As a boy growing up in South Africa, I dreamt of playing at Lord's.

I watched all the big games there on television in Johannesburg and, as Hampshire were involved in 1988, 1991 and 1992, I made a point of tuning in because Robin Smith was playing.

Hampshire's first Trophy final, against Surrey in 1991, was the first cricket match I watched from beginning to end. The run chase in the dark, Jon Ayling and Tony Middleton making runs and Adi Aymes being run out before we won in the last over . . .I still remember it!

I first visited Lord's on a school trip in 1985 and when I first came to England to play club cricket in Hertfordshire in 1994, I went to Lord's once a month to sample the atmosphere and watch the likes of John Emburey, Mike Gatting, Mark Ramprakash and John Carr play for Middlesex.

Playing at Lord's is a goose-bump occasion, even during County Championship matches as there are always a lot of MCC members and tourists there.

Being involved in Hampshire's C & G Trophy final win two years ago was very special but Saturday's Friends Provident Trophy final is even more high profile.

On paper it is hard to pick between the sides although Durham are probably more experienced overall with players like Steve Harmison, Paul Collingwood and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, as well as Dale Benkenstein, my former South Africa A captain, Michael Di Venuto and Ottis Gibson.

Fortunately for us, we have the whole week to prepare which means we can approach Lord's with a clear head.

Unfortunately for Durham, they are having to play Surrey this week after a 700-mile round trip to Canterbury at the weekend, but we will not be doing anything out of the ordinary.

There will be no special practice sessions. We'll set off on Friday morning, make use of the wonderful practice facilities at Lord's in the afternoon and if there's time I may even do some shopping.

It would be silly to change our normal routine, but the difference between the sides could be how the more inexperienced players react to playing in front of a big crowd.

Some people enjoy the adrenaline while others shy away from that and perform better in front of the smaller crowds most county cricketers are used to.

You can be sure Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen and Dimitri Mascarenhas will relish the occasion and I'm looking forward to the challenge of batting against Harmison for the first time.

He is not a big lover of the one-day game as the white ball can nip around a lot, and he is only just coming back from a hernia operation, but we cannot afford to take him lightly.

The teams and the atmosphere will be very different to the last time we played Durham, a Championship draw at the Riverside last month when Harmison, Chanderpaul and Collingwood were absent.

But we will have plenty of support, including my brother George and Simon Katich, my former Hampshire teammate whose Derbyshire side take on Surrey at The Oval on Sunday. Kat has friends from his time at Durham but has confirmed he will be backing the Hawks!

Read today's Daily Echo for the rest of Nic Pothas's column,including his reaction Matthew Prior's recent performances against India.