Potts, who will return to action for Durham against Kent in the County Championship on Friday, may not have been on the tour at all but for Chris Woakes’ shoulder injury in the final Test of the summer against India – a series the 27-year-old did not feature in.

There were calls for him to come into the side throughout England’s time in Australia, however, with many hoping he could bring accuracy and variety to an attack otherwise stacked with tall bowlers who bowled at high pace.

Instead, he produced the most wayward showing of his career.

“In Sydney it’s a cauldron,” he says.

“You’re racking your brains, trying to think logically and rationally, and you can feel like you’re under pressure a lot of the time.

“I was thinking about what I was trying to do, and what Ben and the team were trying to do.

“Execution is another thing and I certainly didn’t execute as well as I could have.”

Potts is keen to retain his place in England’s XI when the Test summer begins in June.

Just how far his Sydney struggles have pushed him down the pecking order remains to be seen.

After an impressive first summer – with 20 wickets across five Tests against New Zealand, India and South Africa – Potts’ last six matches in England whites have been spread across three years.

The seamer has often been left out for those who bowl quicker, or who are viewed as offering greater threat with the new ball, leaving the question of what exactly Potts is at international level.

His coach at Durham, Ryan Campbell, believes he has concentrated too much on bowling wobble-seam deliveries rather than trying to search for swing.