"If you feel good off the pitch then there's no reason why you can't feel good out on the pitch." - Matty Potts
Matty Potts won't forget the final months of 2025 in a hurry.
The pace bowler was called up to the England squad for the Ashes tour of Australia after putting in a huge amount of work to catch the selectors' eyes.
But even that was overshadowed by a moment Matty treasured even more - getting married in October.
It was a whirlwind period of the England international's life, and we caught up with Matty to ask him about being a newlywed, and how he balanced it with his Ashes commitments.
"It was a pretty busy October for us!" said Matty, with a hint of understatement.
"A lot of time spent away working in the nets and stuff, and then get married, and then disappearing again. My wife wasn't best pleased! But she was over the moon at the same time.
"It's funny because the first week after we got married, I did stumble and introduce her by saying 'this is my fiancée', and she's like, 'wife'! I'm like, 'yeah, sorry!' So yeah it was all a bit new, but I'm so happy so excited for what life has in store for us."
The Ashes tour is one of the most gruelling experiences for an elite cricketer, with more than two months away from home. But one of the features of Ben Stokes' captaincy is to encourage families to join the England players on tour, and that gave Matty some precious time with his new wife.
"My wife came over when we got to Melbourne [for the fourth Test], so it was great to see her.
"It's a big morale boost for the boys seeing their families. And you know, especially if things aren't going too well or you're struggling a little bit being away from home... it's just a huge morale boost.
"And if you feel good off the pitch then there's no reason why you can't feel good out on the pitch."
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