Bowlers can use Lord’s slope to play tricks with a batsman’s mind

There is nothing quite like bowling at Lord’s. It is a challenge that comes in two parts: the mental strain of playing at the “Home of Cricket”, in the same way playing at Wembley or Twickenham must bring an extra pressure in football and rugby. And then the ground itself, which is unlike pretty much any other because of the slope that runs across the pitch.

This is the thing that can mess with your mind, just because it is so unusual to have a slope that runs across the ground – going from up high on the Grand Stand side of the ground, to low down towards the Mound Stand. I like to bowl from

the Nursery End, and the first time you run in from there, you feel like you are falling away down the hill as you approach the crease.

Then, from the Pavilion End, everything is sloping back in towards the stumps and you are worried about bowling nothing but leg-stump half-volleys.

My choice of end was forced on me, really. When I joined Middlesex from Surrey in 2007, all the senior bowlers seemed to prefer the Pavilion End and, as the new guy, I did not have much choice. Luckily it seems to suit the way I bowl, so I would have chosen the Nursery End anyway.

I swung the ball more in those days and bowling from that end means you tend to be taking it away from the right-handed batsmen, towards the slips.

I got my head around it quickly – no more than a couple of four-day games. It is like anything: before you do it, it is built into something massive and you worry about how it is going to affect you. Then, once you have done it a couple of times, your mind and body adjust and you almost forget it is there.

The good thing about Lord’s is that, even when the ball does not swing, you always have the slope. The odd ball might nip down the slope, or one might hold its line from nowhere, and that plays tricks with the batsman’s mind. You are always in the game to some extent.

The adage at Lord’s is that to work out how much the ball is likely to do, you look up rather than down. There are occasions when that is not the case – I have played matches there on roasting hot, sunny days where the ball has been going round corners, and on overcast ones when it has been gun-barrel straight – but generally speaking that is still true.

If it is cloudy, and particularly if it is humid, you can expect some assistance – more importantly, so will the batsmen. Cricket is such a psychological game, and once a batsman is confronted by cloudy, muggy conditions, he will just expect the ball to swing around and he will play differently. That gives the bowler an advantage.

That was certainly true in Ireland’s Test against England last month. It was perfect for a bowler like me: I was on my home ground, the conditions were helpful and I knew how to exploit them. We were playing England at a good time, as they were on a bit of a comedown after the World Cup. That Test was the moment

I wanted to peak this season, and everything just clicked. I ended up with five first-innings wickets.

We could not quite force a win, but we gave England a good scare. They came into our dressing room for a drink afterwards and it was nice to swap stories, especially as the Ireland guys had already taped my name to the honours board.

Those boards are one of the reasons players are so inspired whenever they walk out to play at Lord’s – the chance to put your name up there alongside some of the greats is special. It motivated me against England, and it will be the same for the 22 players who walk out at Lord’s today.