The new captain's first address to the team was upbeat and confident and he stressed that this was a fresh start for everyone. At the end he thanked me for my previous efforts and wished me luck for the matches ahead. It was a nice touch. After that, however, it was open season and in the time-honoured fashion of cricket dressing rooms nobody was going to let the opportunity pass (I would have been disappointed if they had). ``I can call you what I want now, you're just a trooper like me,'' bellowed Darren Gough.

When I finally plucked up courage to make a suggestion in the dressing room the vice-captain, Nasser Hussain, flashed back ``We'll let you know, OK,'' before announcing that he was, in fact, the unluckiest person in the world, having just succumbed to another 'grubber'. Angus Fraser gave him an hour to cool down before informing him that the children of Sudan might just possibly pip him for that unwanted tag.

Although I did not find the transition that strange, there were differences. More time seemed to be the biggest benefit of reduced status. A captain must always think of his team first and foremost and that along with other responsibilities, such as the press and endless requests for photos, means he is often last to leave. As a player, you can concentrate more freely on your own game as a batsman and fielder. He would be wrong, however, to become totally inward-looking. The team ethic is vital and in the field I tried to encourage as much as possible and still keep the cricket brain active, so as to be able to make suggestions when asked as well as prevent boredom.

It was strange, though, to be posted at third man, the first time I had fielded on the boundary during a Test for five years. I had forgotten what a luxury it is to field in the inner circle especially when one spectator dressed as a nun continually encouraged me to join with him in finishing a rather flat-looking pint of beer.

I was certainly more nervous before this Test than for a while. I did not sleep much the night before and not at all when not out overnight. A combination of both anticipation before batting and adrenalin afterwards saw to that. The added nerves were not, I think, because I was no longer captain, rather that I was acutely aware of not having scored a weight of runs in the last two series and that I needed to re-establish my credentials as a Test opener. All Test centuries are special but, given those parameters, the quality of the attack and the nature of the conditions, this was a hundred of which I was especially proud.

Stewart can be pleased with his first game in charge. We had the worst of the conditions to bat in and suffered a cruel blow by losing Gough. Still, to be pushing for victory on the fourth evening can be considered a good effort. Alec deserves the plaudits for encouraging a positive outlook in the second innings, as much by actions as words and by giving an aggressive lead with the bat. All in all a good start by him but I am sure the team would appreciate more sightings of what threatens to become a rare bird, the 'Captain's Expenses', so frequently seen during the last four years.

The South Africans may have been disappointed by their failure to exploit the conditions at Edgbaston but, make no mistake, they have a pair of thoroughbreds with the new ball in Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock who will improve from their first outing. They are a fighting side: difficult to beat because of the disciplined nature of their bowling, fine fielding and depth of batting. Check how often this summer Messrs Klusener, Pollock and Boucher drag their side out of trouble. We will not get that many chances to beat them and when we do we must take them.

The Lord's Test against South Africa marks, I suppose, a kind of anniversary for me. Four years ago, in this corresponding fixture, I was accused of ball-tampering and for two long weeks I was surrounded by the whiff of scandal. Looking back, it seems so long ago. My attitude to ball-tampering, however, has not really changed. As I tried to explain in the Imran Khan v Ian Botham trial last year, I have a fairly relaxed view towards it and if it is an issue still for the media (which I doubt) then it is an ex-issue for players actually playing international cricket.

The spotlight was certainly intense for a fortnight. The Times decided the affair warranted a leader and it was front and back-page news for most papers. Everyone, as diverse as the likes of Jimmy Tarbuck to the chairman of the Headmasters Conference, seemed to have a view. Certainly I did not handle the glare of publicity too well and would do better now, but then again how many 26-year-olds can cope with that as well as trying to captain their country?

I think it is important not to take yourself too seriously and it is with a lot of humour I recall those events now. It seemed to develop into a farce from the moment Graham Gooch told me to go straight to the dressing room and not talk to the press because there was a ball-tampering issue afoot. He added: ``Well, it must be their ball because our ball's not gone off the straight!''

I spent the next week trying to avoid the media: three changes of address and a James Bond-like manoeuvre at 70mph down a country lane in the Lake District was good enough to escape the clutches of two dubious looking gentlemen in a Ford Escort. All in all, a pretty good story to recall in years to come.

This time around Lord's will have a different feel to it. Then the South Africans basked in the glory of their return to the international arena. Now they face the realities of non-stop, around-the-world cricket and they face a better England team than they did then. Hopefully, we can look forward to a different result and slightly calmer waters this time.