JACK LAUGHER believes he and partner Chris Mears will go from strength to strength after finally making their long-awaited competitive debut together and finishing fourth at the Diving World Series in London.

The duo first teamed up after last summer’s World Championships but had to wait until Friday evening to show what they could do on the boards with Mears having suffered injuries to both ankles.

But despite a few early nerves, Laugher and Mears scored an impressive 431.82 to finish just outside of the medals, with gold going to Chinese world and Olympic champions He Chong and Qin Kai.

“I’ve never been so nervous in my entire life,” said Laugher, who will return to the boards at the London Aquatics Centre on Saturday for the 3m individual springboard event.

“Chris and I have been wanting this for years so it’s amazing it can happen here in such a good venue. It’s a weird feeling, but we got into our stride, had a bit of fun with it and I want to be doing it for years to come.

“We’ve put down a benchmark. If we can keep building on it, I’m not going say numbers or anything, but we are very optimistic about the future.”

Tickets to see the world’s best divers at the FINA/NVC Diving World Series are still available. Go to www.swimming.org/finadiving/tickets to get your seat at the London Aquatics Centre