Brad Haddin has emerged from an unscheduled week of training in Leicester, determined to shrug off the shadow of his predecessor.

The 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman had arguably the toughest job of all the new recruits when he took over the role from Adam Gilchrist in Australia's Test side just over a year ago.

The comparisons were inevitable with Gilchrist, possibly the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in cricket history, and he faces the unenviable task of being the player chosen to replace him behind the stumps in this summer's crunch series.

But Haddin, who only made his Test debut just over a year ago, has no intention of even trying to live up to such an exalted reputation and wants to forge a reputation of his own when the Ashes finally begin in the next few weeks.

"I lack Gilly's flamboyance"

"There's talk about comparisons and things like that, but I think it's very unfair," stressed Haddin, who toured England in 2005 as Gilchrist's understudy but failed to play a match.

"Adam could be said to be one of the best players to have ever played the game so I think the comparisons are a little bit disrespectful to him because he's one of the greats of the game and I've only just started, only 12 months into my international career.

"Adam could easily take the game away from you with the bat inside a session, but I don't think you'll see any of that flamboyance from me."

Indeed Haddin had a difficult start to his Test career and took 16 innings before he registered his first half-century, but when he did the New South Welshman underlined his ability with a superb 169 against New Zealand in Adelaide.

Since that breakthrough innings he has averaged 48.70 in six Tests home and away against South Africa, which is a record which suggests he could follow in the footsteps of Gilchrist, Ian Healy and Rod Marsh in becoming a major thorn in England's side this summer.

A good year

"I've actually been very happy with the first 12 months," said Haddin. "It was a shaky start but you obviously get tested a lot more in this environment, but I've enjoyed the challenge and the added scrutiny you're under at this level.

"In the last six months I've really started to understand a lot more what international cricket's like. I'm also starting to feel a lot more comfortable in this environment and been able to express myself as a player.

"I want to contribute to an Australian win. I'm not thinking about whether I'm going to be a thorn in their side or anything like that, I just want to contribute to an Australian win in the series."

Haddin and nine other members of the Australian Test squad have spent the last week in Leicester training at Grace Road following their shock early exit from the ICC World Twenty20.

Good preparation

They were joined in London by the other members of Australia's Test squad and will train in the next few days before transferring to Hove for their four-day match against Sussex.

"We've done a lot of training and had some pretty intense training, but it's been good," he explained. "It's given our quicks and everyone an opportunity to get outside in some outstanding facilities.

"We only had a small group of players so you really got a lot of volume in and it was an enjoyable few days. It wasn't bad boy nets or anything like that, but we only had 10 players there so you can get a lot more done individually than you normally would with a squad of 16 - it was good preparation for what's coming up."