Get picked for an Ashes Test at Lord's and you know you're going to meet the Queen. She arrived before the start of our game against Australia in 2013 and we lined up for inspection like the household cavalry on Horse Guards Parade.
I look so much like my dad - same chin, same cheekbones, same forehead - and I play a little like him too. But I am my mother's son. I am who I am because of her.
I was a fortnight away from my 16th birthday when the fabled 2005 Ashes series ended. My hero-worship throughout it belonged to Ian Bell - though I don't think I've ever made that abundantly clear to him.
But put it this way: if I have a bad day keeping, I know I can put it right with the bat, and vice versa. When it all comes together, happy days.
It's all well and good when it's going good and people have an opinion on how well you're playing, but it's the hidden things they don't see.
Look how successful Eddie Jones was, then all of a sudden a training camp is wrong and it's his fault. The same with Stuart Lancaster.
No one saw me cry over my dad's death for almost nine years. I hid what I felt, bottling up my emotions so tightly that almost nothing leaked out.
I've learnt a lot about Dad from going around the world and listening to other people. Whether I've been in Australia, the Caribbean, Leeds, Scarborough or London there's always someone who's got a story about him.
Yorkshire knew how important Scarborough was for me. So I was awarded my county cap there in 2011. That first cap is one of the most precious things I own. The club didn't tell me that I'd be receiving it, but instead tipped off my mum, making sure she saw the presentation.
If you can't motivate yourself to get up and play in front of 30,000-40,000 people, then you're not in the right job.
If someone who doesn't know anything about wicketkeeping finds a reason to criticise, you have to sift it out. It's about working out how to deal with the criticism while improving your game.
All sportsmen have superstitions, or at least they have routines. You look at Rafa Nadal and the way he organises his water bottles. Me, I always put my left pad and left shoe on first.
I'm a bit taller too because I've got Mum's legs and Dad was a bit more squat and well-built than me. My brother Andrew is a bit more like Dad.
If you suddenly go striving for different things from what have stood you in good stead over a period of time then you're searching for something that you are probably not going to find.
