By David Troughton TV & Royal Shakespeare Company actor

"Don't worry - it's only pretend" was my father's mantra and I have always clung to it when faced with press night nerves.

Not being over-awed, using adrenaline to your advantage, thinking clearly and never fearing failure have certainly stood me in good stead while performing.

Watching, though, is a different matter.

There is a heightened tension which has no release, knowing that there is nothing you can do but passively sit and hope.

My wife Ali and I have been no strangers to this feeling as for years we have watched our sons Sam, an actor, Jim, a cricketer and William, an actor in the making, perform in their chosen fields.

But a packed Lord's has to be the most nerve-wracking event we have experienced to date.

Talking things over with partner Ian Bell

We actors, unfortunately, are a superstitious lot and both Ali and I have developed various 'skills' to ease the situation, especially for the sometimes-cruel game of cricket.

Despite normal parental confidence in Jim's ability, we both resort to tried and tested methods to keep him at the crease.

With the threat of a �1,000 fine (which we thought would be excessive!), we were unable to implement our main tension releaser that entails 'walking' wickets and runs with a leisurely stroll round the boundary.

Other, more stationary tactics had to be employed.

Concentration was the key. Not moving a muscle then taking a deep breath, watching the bowler closely throughout his run up, focusing on the ball and exhaling only when Jim had dealt with the delivery seemed to help.

An aching neck and shoulders was a small price to pay.

No contact between each other apart from an odd glance, whispered encouragement under one's breath, sitting back in the seat only when he was not on strike and not daring to look up at the replay screen seemed to breed an air of confidence in the middle.

The proud father

As his innings developed, we could dispense with the usual crossing of fingers and nervous foot tapping, to be replaced by huge yells of encouragement as one of his boundaries thudded into the boards.

To an outsider, this must seem a rather bizarre and complicated way to watch a sport.

For parents, though, the rewards come afterwards. Joy and relief are magnificent compensations for the agonies felt during the event.

And the realisation that on this particularly momentous occasion, it was not your stupid good luck charms, but your son's innate skill and desire to perform at his best on a big stage, and succeeding, only enhanced the heartfelt pride in a job well done.

David Troughton will be appearing in a new six-part BBC1 serial 'Paradise Heights' from 2 July, and is also scorer for Stratford upon Avon Cricket Club.