Michael Vaughan: what it is like to be England captain in an Ashes Test at Lord's Each England player has their own space. I changed next to the fridge on the back wall. Alastair Cook sits on the right-hand side by the door. It is a no-stone-unturned environment. There will be a towel on your place bearing your name, the MCC logo, England v Australia, 2013. That is yours to keep. I always used to look at the honours board on the dressing-room wall. I would look at the names, pick out my hundreds and use those experiences as inspiration. It was different when I was captain. Then I would look at the bowling honours board because as captain you know it is the bowlers who win matches. I would take in the names such as Ian Botham and Bob Willis; in 2005, I thought if a couple of our lads got their names up there we would win the Test. After a hundred or five-wicket haul Mark Saxby, the England team masseuse, will put a strip of sticking plaster up and write your name, score or figures. It sits there until the signwriter makes it official. Once out of the dressing room as an England player you turn a diagonal left (right for the Australians, on the opposite side of the pavilion) and descend two flights of stairs which will be lined with members. Then it is right at the bottom of the stairs, left through a narrow door and then into the Long Room. Then the shouts of encouragement and cheers will hit you. It is all very polite of course but feels very patriotic: "Good luck old chap." They turn into posh northern louts for a split second. The Long Room is crammed like a busy bar. You walk through the narrow tunnel created by the stewards, go through the double doors and down the steps at the front of the pavilion. This is when the hairs on the back of the neck stand up. If you can, take in this moment. Whichever team go out first should be thinking: "How lucky are we to be playing cricket right here, right now." It does not get any better. Then it is down through the little gate, opened by a steward, and on to the field. Both sides have to cope with this overwhelming sensory experience. The two opening batsmen will be pumped but you cannot be too excitable. It is tempting to impress the crowd and play a big shot early on. You have to calm yourself down and watch the red ball. Do not play the occasion. The Australians have been lifted by Lord's in the past and I really like the way Darren Lehmann and Michael Clarke have asked the former players for advice this week. We had a terrible record at Lord's but I think that started to lift in 2000 when we beat West Indies in a tight Test. The fear of Lord's used to stalk the England dressing room. It has gone. Beating Australian in 2009 for the first time there for 75 years lifted the last burden and England embrace Lord's now. Many of Cook's senior players have great records at Lord's. Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad and Cook all have hundreds. James Anderson, Steven Finn and Graeme Swann have five-wicket hauls. So, too, does reserve bowler Graham Onions. England's advantage is that Australia have a lot of young kids making their debuts at Lord's. England will hope the history, slope, and grand occasion will unnerve the young Australians. But be warned: it could excite them, too.