Ashes 2013: Alastair Cook wants England to keep Britain's sporting summer of success going by beating Australia We'd love to be able to join them in that success but there's a lot of hard work to do first. Cook, leading the side for the first time in an Ashes series, acknowledges there is a special feeling before the sport's oldest rivals clash but has cautioned England not to allow the occasion to get the better of them. "Everyone is just desperately excited to be here after such a big build-up," he said. We have finally arrived, pretty much, at game day. There are a few nerves floating around too, so that's probably the two favourite words: nerves and excitement. We do have to remind ourselves how lucky we are to be playing the Ashes series at a fantastic venue with great support. You have to try and take yourself out of the moment and enjoy it. That's why we play sport in the first place. We've got to try not to blow it out of all proportions, using huge words like 'massive series'. We've got to keep ourselves true to who we are and remember it's just another game of cricket. This is what we've been doing all our lives and we've handled these situations before. One player who may not have dealt with such an occasion in the past is Joe Root. He is just six matches into his Test career and will open the batting alongside Cook for the first time, having been elevated in place of the dropped Nick Compton. Cook made a similar move himself in his early days in the side and expects Root to meet the challenge head on. "It's quite similar to what happened with myself really," he said. I moved up from number three. (He's being) kind of thrown in there but he's handled himself in every situation fantastically. Whether it's a one-day game where he needs to score quickly or see the side home he's managed to change his style. I can see no reason why he can't handle himself. The Ashes tickets are available to buy via Telegraph Tickets.