For all his achievements in moulding England into a successful side capable of winning in nearly all conditions, Michael Vaughan's reign as captain will ultimately be judged on how he fares against Australia.

Nearly every time Australia reach English shores, expectations levels rise among cricket followers that maybe this time the Ashes will finally be reclaimed and end the long wait for success over England's fiercest rivals.

All too often those expectations have been crushed by Australia's brilliance, a magical spell from Shane Warne and Glen McGrath or a stunning exhibition of strokeplay by Adam Gilchrist to end England's hopes of victory.

But for the first time in many years, England now have a captain in Vaughan who has proven track record against the world's best team coupled with a steely mental resolve which just might be enough to ensure Australia do not enjoy another emphatic triumph.

While previous England captains have entered Ashes series accustomed to failure, Vaughan can reflect on his outstanding record against them two winters ago when he scored three centuries and averaged over 60 during the 4-1 defeat down under.

His displays during that series prompted Warne to describe him as one of the best batsmen he had ever faced, while McGrath began stoking up the build-up for this summer's confrontations by openly admitting months ago that he would be out to target Vaughan.

It was not meant as an attempt to intimidate the England captain, who has already demonstrated he was born in the Michael Atherton mould of player unlikely to be fazed by such antics.

In fact McGrath's statement was more of an acknowledgement that Vaughan is a major threat to Australia.

Those comments are more likely to inspire than intimidate Vaughan, who has shown a cold toughness since becoming captain and leading England to five successive Test series triumphs as a warm-up for this summer's Ashes confrontation, which begins at Lord's this morning.

Vaughan's self-belief will be crucial to his fortunes and his ability to transfer that confidence to the rest of his team, could be the key to England's performance.

''When you play Australia there are a lot of mind games, a lot of stuff written but you have to believe in yourself and retain your mental strength,'' said Vaughan.

He will no doubt remind his team about the two previous meetings with Australia, notably the final Test triumph in Sydney when Vaughan hit 183 in the second innings to finish 2003 as the world's leading Test run-scorer and help England clinch a 225-run victory having lost the first four Tests.

Australia would point out they were without influential pair Warne and McGrath, who were injured, for that match but they had their first choice one-day line-up out last September when England claimed a comprehensive six-wicket victory in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final.

Test cricket is a vastly different format and requires different disciplines and skills and, unlike at Edgbaston, both Warne and McGrath will once again be on the teamsheet ready to terrorise a new generation of England batsmen.

But Vaughan will underline the importance of belief, draw on his personal success against Australia and try to convince his team they are capable of beating the world's best and completing one of modern sport's great upsets.

''The important thing is that the England team beat Australia in a Test match because if we can beat them in one Test match we can go on to win the series,'' he stressed.

''It will take a big effort but I'm pretty confident with the team and the players we have we can achieve the consistency we need to beat them.''

Those who believe England's fortunes during this Ashes series are firmly entwined with those of their captain, will have been encouraged by his first Test century against Bangladesh at Lord's after a barren spell of eight Tests without reaching three figures.

The opposition will be far tougher at Lord's today, but England will be hoping the home of cricket can inspire him again once he comes face to face with that baggy green cap.

Celebrated captains have tried and failed before him, but Vaughan will remain confident he can avoid adding his name to the list of those who suffered Ashes defeats - David Gower, Graham Gooch, Allan Lamb, Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart and Nasser Hussain - to claim an historic first series victory over Australia since 1986-7.

England enjoyed a thumping win in the first game of the NatWest Challenge series, the nine wicket triumph the biggest ever.

But Vaughan warned: "'It can't hinder your confidence when you win by nine wickets against a team like Australia but how much an effect the one-dayers have on the Ashes, who knows?

"History suggests it won't have any.''

A comfortable Test series win over Bangladesh set England up for the summer and Vaughan added: "We did what we expected.

"I think Australia would have expected us to have beaten Bangladesh 2-0 as well, but we expect the challenges ahead to be a lot harder.''