Australia Test captain Steve Waugh said his Test career could have ended had he not scored any runs in the fifth Ashes Test against England earlier this year.
Test cricket's most capped player and second-leading runscorer recalled at the launch of his 11th book on Wednesday a dramatic century in Sydney in January that saved his career.
"It could have been my last match. If I didn't score runs my Test career was over," Waugh said.
"I was under a lot of pressure, but you appreciate things more when they don't come too easy.
"You dream that these things could happen, but you don't really expect them to."
The 38-year-old punched a boundary through cover from the last ball of the second day's play to equal Don Bradman's national record of 29 Test centuries and has added another three more against West Indies and Bangladesh.
Waugh spoke of his desire to tour India next year, where Australia have not won a Test series since 1969-70 under Bill Lawry, and his eagerness to chase more personal milestones.
Australia host India in a four-Test series in December and January before travelling to India in September.
Waugh's 10,660 runs in 164 matches place him second to former captain Allan Border's world mark of 11,174 and he is only two hundred behind India's world record holder Sunil Gavaskar.
"I know I am playing as well as I have ever played in my career. There's no reason I can't get a couple more hundreds," said Waugh, who is also nine wickets shy of 100.
"There might be nine wickets out there for me this summer. It's something to aspire to," the part-time medium-pacer said.
The veteran said he was inspired by Australia opener Matthew Hayden's world record score of 380 in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Perth earlier this month.
"I have always dreamed about a triple hundred," said Waugh, whose highest Test score is his gritty 200 against West Indies in 1994-95 at Kingston, Jamaica.
"If I'm there I would love to be part of that," said Waugh.
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