Lord's Test, Day 1
Thursday, May 16, 2002 Well, that wasn't the wicket we wanted, to be honest. It looked good when we arrived yesterday, and it turned out to be a good toss to have won, even if I was a bit unsure at the start. Lord's in May has something of a reputation, and you never know how the wicket will play until you get out there - we could quite easily have batted and ended up 20 for 3, so I was content to have a bowl … at first.

Obviously we hoped the pitch would do a bit more - it started out a bit slowly, then quickened up for the second new ball in the evening, which was actually the last thing we wanted to see. We are going to have to be a little bit careful when our turn comes. If the sun stays out, one or two cracks are bound to appear and there'll be a little bit of uneven bounce for the seamers. It will make for some interesting batting.

Both sides were right to pick four seamers though. Spin never plays a big part this early in the season and there won't be much turn, except a little bit out of the footholes. If anything, the wicket will harden up, something it hasn't had a chance to do on the last few occasions at Lord's, because of the cloudy conditions and the three-day finishes.

I thought we bowled okay, but a little mixed at times - perhaps one ball an over strayed onto the legs. But it's always tough here because of the slope, and I'd give our guys seven out of ten for effort. We weren't helped by a very soft ball, which went out of shape quite early on. The umpires actually agreed with us, but unfortunately it fitted through the special hoops they have for gauging these things, and so we had to make do, although we kept checking to see if it was damaged enough for a replacement.

As I said, it quickened up for the new ball, so I gave it to Freddie [Flintoff] and Hoggard, with one over for Corkie because he was in a bit of rhythm at that stage and I wanted to see what he could do. But this is no slight on Andrew Caddick - we did this quite a bit in New Zealand and it is one of the benefits of having three guys who are capable of taking the new ball. It is a bit of a hit-the-deck wicket at the moment, so Freddie was my man. If it had been a bit sweatier then obviously Caddy would have got the nod.

So, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I was feeling very refreshed after my break - not anymore! Still, that goes with the territory. We are England cricketers, and we know what is expected of us in the next few days.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. His thoughts appear on Wisden.com, other duties permitting, at the end of each day of international cricket that England play.

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