I'm going to tell you about how we turned the Test series against the Proteas around, what's been going on behind the scenes while I've been away from international cricket, and why these T20 matches are the start of our bid to do the 'double'.

Test turnaround

At the start of the Test series, we were wondering if it was going to be one of those frustrating trips where everything would be against us.

Cast your mind back to Christmas, around the first Test, when so many of the squad were going down ill.

It was one guy, after another, after another. One man would come down in the morning and say "my stomach feels a bit dodgy" and they were sent straight to quarantine. Another would say that he was starting to feel fluey and they were gone too.

We tried so hard to contain everything. We were cleaning door handles, carrying wipes and gels everywhere. Each man would have his name on a water bottle so as to only drink out of that one.

Even then, it still spread. The doctor was tearing her hair out.

Things started to turn in the second Test. Even though we lost Rory Burns, James Anderson and Jack Leach from the squad, we were roared on by the Barmy Army, who were as loud as I've ever heard them.

I knew before the tour began I wasn't going to play early on - I was still recovering from my side injury - but when the time came to prepare for the third Test, there was a spot available in the team because of the injury to Jimmy.

Sometimes, you get a little indication as to the how the captain is thinking by how the nets are set up. On the whiteboard, it was me, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer to bowl first, so that suggested it was the three of us competing for one place.

I charged in, gave it my all, trying to prove I was ready to go. After I got the nod from Joe Root, I spent the night before the match watching videos on my phone of my last Test, against West Indies almost a year earlier, to remind myself of what I was capable of.

It helped that I was able to smack a few with the bat before I came to bowl. With 42 from 23 balls, I was actually on for the fastest half-century by an England batsman in Tests. If I'd known that, I might have made sure I got it.

That knock, and getting some more runs in the fourth Test, meant I was getting messages on Instagram off people calling me the 'Durham De Villiers'. I'll take that.

The runs were scored with a bat I call The Blade of Justice, one that I got from Joe. We have the same sponsor, and during the summer he saw one of mine that he wanted, and you can't really say no when one of the world's best batsmen wants your bat.

He gave me one in return, which he now wants back. He's got no chance.

The batting gave me real confidence going into my bowling, and the wickets that I took were reward for all of the rehab, the dark days and the wondering if I'd ever play cricket for England again.

I try to play my cricket as if every match is my last. It's my job to bring energy to the team, either in the dressing room, with the ball or the bat. That is what I'll try to keep doing.

Woody the dad

Mark Wood took nine wickets in the fourth Test against South Africa

I can't mention my batting without talking about the help I've had from my dad and my wife, Sarah. It got a lot of attention in the press when I revealed they had been feeding the bowling machine for me back at Newcastle Cricket Centre.

In Sarah's case, it was while she was heavily pregnant. She likes her cricket, probably encouraged because of what I do for a living. She even plays for a local team, so she thinks she can give me some tips.

When it comes to feeding the machine, Sarah doesn't raise her arm to let me know the ball is coming, she just wangs it in. I had to say 'Sarah, just give me a minute to have a look'. She was keener to tell me to get in line.

Our little boy was born in October, and I left home to do some fitness work in Spain at the end of November, so I was away for a long time.

It was hard because I was thinking about leaving Sarah with everything to do, but also for the times when you're alone in a hotel room, missing him growing up.

You get through it by wanting to make him proud and hoping that you're doing this so that his life is better in the future.

Because I sat out the one-day series, I travelled back home from the Tests with a different feeling than normal. Often I've left tours feeling disappointed because of an injury, but this time I had so many good memories.

It's been absolutely brilliant to get back, have a cuddle with him and spend some time at home.

Whereas before it was about getting fit, being on the exercise bike in the house or doing sprints in a freezing cold park, now it has been about switching off from cricket and changing some nappies.

Is it harder being a dad, or taking wickets for England? I actually pride myself on my nappies. Once you get that flap around, nice and smooth, you're away. It's easier than trying to bowl fast.