Don't panic if you get a bad start, England

MICHAEL SLATER

EX-AUSTRALIA TEST STAR

THE atmosphere has been building for weeks and, now that the Ashes series is nearly here, those of us on the outside looking in - supporters and media - are almost bursting with excitement.

First day, first morning, first ball . . .

if you're anything like me you can't wait for 10.30am on Thursday.

It's a safe bet the players will be desperate to get down to action as well.

But whereas Australia - with all their experience of huge occasions - should be able to keep a lid on their emotions, the one thing England must not do between now and the off is work themselves into a frenzy.

Everyone is putting enormous emphasis on the first session of this first npower Test, saying it could shape the whole series.

And it is important, very important.

But I do think that if England are not careful they could put too much pressure on themselves with all this talk of getting off to a flyer.

Australia will chat about hitting England hard, be it with bat or ball.

They know, however, that they can lose the first Test of an Ashes series and come back to win. Why? Because it happened here in 1997.

But England don't have anything like the same experience to fall back on, because losing the opening Test during this long sequence of Australian dominance has always been the beginning of the end for them.

What Michael Vaughan's team need to concentrate on is being competitive from the first ball. If they put too much emphasis on winning the first session, and then end up losing it, what a downer that would be for them.

Don't make it the be all and end all of what you're trying to achieve - that's what I'm saying.

If England find themselves 60 for four at lunch on Thursday they will hear enough people around the ground muttering 'here we go again' without the same thoughts going through their minds.

What you have to do is be able to come back from a bad session and cancel it out with a good one of your own.

When I played for Australia we stuck a bit of card on the dressing room wall with boxes marked off on it representing each two- hour period of the Test. We filled it in after every session, literally putting a tick or a cross in the relevant box depending on whether we thought we had won or lost the session.

If you win more sessions than you lose you, should end up taking the Test.

There's no doubt England would benefit from having a big fat tick in their box come Thursday lunchtime.

But a straight line - which we used to indicate a drawn session - would do them as well, I'm sure.

With the attack Vaughan's now got at his disposal they should be able to prevent Australia from screaming out of the blocks.

In many ways, though, it will be even more interesting if England are batting on Thursday - with Glenn McGrath is hunting for that 500th Test wicket.

I think he was quite happy to finish on 499 when Australia were playing in New Zealand earlier this year. And it was almost as though Ricky Ponting wanted to hold him back so he was still one away from the big landmark come Lord's.

If Glenn gets number 500 early on Thursday, what a start that will be for his Ashes series.

McGrath loves bowling at Lord's and I'm sure the whole Australian team were thrilled when they heard where the First Test was to be played.

Lord's, with all its history, just takes you to another level and, as everyone knows, we only lost one Test there in the whole of the last century.

I will never forget my appearances on that beautiful ground, especially my century in 1993.

Everything about the place is to be cherished but, at the same time, it is hard not to be overawed when you first play there.

For most members of this Australian team, of course, it will be like revisiting an old friend.

They'll all have "their area" in that huge dressing room, the spot where they sat and changed last time, and will make straight for it.

When your turn to bat comes, though, the journey from dressing room to middle at Lord's never ceases to amaze and is savoured by all those lucky enough to make it.

As you descend two large flights of stairs your mind might drift to all the legends who have taken this route before you. For an Australian, names such as Sir Donald Bradman, Arthur Morris and the Chappell brothers spring to mind.

Then it's through the packed Long Room, weaving past the MCC members - and probably taking a little bit of gentle sledging on the way, along the lines of 'see you back here in five minutes' - before stepping onto that perfect, carpet-like turf.

Lord's. It is unique - and this year it will stage the first of what ought to be five fascinating Tests.

I've thought about this long and hard, done all the comparisons, and I keep coming back to Australia winning 3-1.

But if England play as well as they clearly can then every match should be hard fought and a treat to watch.

Thank goodness the waiting is nearly over.

How the first day can shape a series

1989 - HEADINGLEY

England were favourites to retain the Ashes but captain David Gower ignored the groundsman's advice and stuck Australia in. They made 601-7 declared, won the Test by 210 runs, took the series 4-0 and the rest, as they say, is history.

1994-95 - BRISBANE

England were desperate for an aggressive start.

Instead, Phillip DeFreitas launched the series with a long hop, Michael Slater crashed it to the boundary and 26 runs in all came from the first four overs. Australia won easily and never looked back.

1997 - EDGBASTON Australia chose to bat, Darren Gough's first ball fizzed past the outside edge of Mark Taylor's bat and, 90 minutes later, the visitors were 54 for eight. England went on to win by nine wickets - their only Test victory while the Ashes were still up for grabs since 1986.

2002-03 - BRISBANE Nasser Hussain inexplicably inserted Australia when the conditions cried out for England to bat and put a decent total on the board.

Instead, the Aussies were 364 for two by stumps - and that was game, set and series for another tour.

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