Andrew Strauss: What makes Lord's special

By Andrew Strauss

Last Updated: 11:16pm BST 17/05/2008

Monday
The England team meeting up for the first day of the summer is very similar to school kids returning to school after holidays.

In pics: All the action from Lord's

First Test scoreboard

In Sport: commentating and one-liners

There is new kit to be shown off and admired, in a cricketer's case bats and pads rather than pencil cases and protractors, a sense of anticipation of what the coming weeks have in store, and above all a non-stop babble of voices as each of the players eagerly relay the stories of what's been going on over the last few weeks.

For Alastair Cook and myself, today proves an opportunity for us to debrief on the championship match between Middlesex and Essex last week, in which Essex pulled off a remarkable and unexpected victory.

During the game Essex crucially did not allow our wicketkeeper, David Nash, who injured a hamstring, to have a replacement and Ed Joyce, who had to don the gloves, ended up putting down a catch near the end that would have probably won the game for Middlesex. We were seething at the time and one look at the grin on Cook's face as I asked him why they chose to go against the spirit of the game made the whole defeat even more difficult to bear. Thankfully we are now on the same side.

Tuesday
After attending the England player of the year dinner last night, where Ryan Sidebottom rightly won the award, we arrived at Lord's bright and early this morning to be confronted by piles and piles of new Adidas kit, as well as a magnificent memento from the MCC, an embroidered towel with our names and the dates of the game on it.

If ever we needed reminding of why Lord's is the ground by which all others are measured, this was it. Most people running a venue have some idea how to get the big things right, the ticketing, the food, the entertainment, but no other ground comes near to doing the little things that players and spectators really remember even remotely as well as Lord's. It is a privilege to play here.

Practice was livened up by Kevin Pietersen persuading us to play what he described as the best warm-up game ever. We were all secretly hoping it was going to be awful and therefore give us some useful micky-taking rights, but the game that involved no ball but only players putting up their hands at regular intervals did end up being decent. Don't tell him I said that though.

Wednesday
Final practice before the game this morning. Maybe it is just the familiar surroundings, or perhaps it is the comfort of knowing that we won our last series, but the lads seen far more relaxed than in New Zealand earlier in the year. For me it can only be a good sign.

Today was also a chance for us to try on our shiny new kit for the first time. The whites are white, not cream, a shade of white or anything else, just white. Also, for the first time we are without the traditional woollen sweater, which has been replaced by a much lighter sweatshirt-like garment.

Not only does it look good, it feels incredibly comfortable, and is just as warm as the older model. Having worn it today, it makes me wonder why cricket clothing like this wasn't adopted years ago. All other sports seem to have moved on with the times far more than our wonderful game.

Thursday
After 10 days of glorious sunshine it was ironic that the first day of the international calendar was dark, grey and raining.

After waiting around all morning, trying to find a happy medium between being switched on in case the rain fizzled out, but also remaining relaxed so as not to mentally exert ourselves unnecessarily, play finally got under way after lunch.

As expected the wicket did a bit with all the moisture around, and we were pretty pleased with ourselves when New Zealand were 104 for five. Brendon McCullum then decided to throw caution to the wind and take the game to us. It was a fantastic innings, which thoroughly deserved to be a hundred, and brought New Zealand right back into the game at 203 for six.

Friday
Another awful day to play cricket in, with low cloud, drizzle and frequent bad light. We had to work hard for the remaining New Zealand wickets on a pitch that seemed to play reasonably well. It was left to Ryan Sidebottom to swing out the tailenders with the second new ball, and their total of 277 was one that both teams probably felt was satisfactory.

A good end to the day as Cook and I readjusted to opening together again and weathered both the new ball and the frequent interruptions. In the end though it was a day in which no one really prospered.

It was frustrating for the players coming on and off as the light conditions fluctuated and I can't imagine it was great for the spectators to endure either.

Saturday
Another very frustrating day. Batting is hard enough when you have to get in once, but when you have to get in five or six times it's even harder. Better forecast tomorrow, so hopefully we can make hay when the sun shines.