England spinner Graeme Swann cannot hide his excitement ahead of the start of the Ashes on Thursday.
The 31-year-old will be part of the XI that will take on Australia as the series begins at the Gabba and he admits it is hard to stay focused.
Widespread media attention and England's terrific build-up form have the Northamptonshire-born spinner eager to start the series.
"It's really building now, less than a week to go," Swann told reporters on Sunday.
"I go back to my room at night and I smile like a lunatic and bounce off the walls. It's going to be amazing come Thursday - I just can't wait."
"Any player would be lying if he said you can't feel it."
As opposed to previous tours, England arrived in Australia early and have shown the decision was a good one with excellent form against the cream of Australian domestic cricket.
Comfortable victories over Western Australia and Australia A have boosted the camp while Andrew Strauss' side was only prevented from defeating South Australia due to rain.
"We've played some excellent cricket over the last three or four weeks," Swann said.
"The acclimatisation couldn't have gone better really. I think it just showed the strength and the depth of our squad that we could give Australia A such a good beating the other day."
England's victory in Hobart against Australia A came without first-choice bowlers Swann and pace trio Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Steven Finn, giving the remainder of the squad a chance to test their arm.
While Swann said it is 'nice' to be referred to as a key man in the series, he believes the performance of England's paceman will be crucial in deciding the outcome of the Ashes.
"The way the pitches have played so far on this trip and the weather around Brisbane at the moment, it may be the case that seamers play more part," he said.
"We're very lucky if it is seamer-friendly conditions as we've got two of the best seam bowlers in the world [Anderson and Broad] and a guy who will the best bowler in the world in three or four years [Finn]."
Swann said he feels sympathy for fellow off-spinner Nathan Hauritz who failed to make Australia's 13-man squad for the Gabba Test, with left-arm orthodox bowler Xavier Doherty and leg-spinner Steve Smith getting the nod instead.
Doherty is expected to play and will hope to make the most of England star Kevin Pietersen's supposed weakness against left-arm bowlers - but Swann believes there is nothing wrong with the Hampshire batsman's game.
"I feel a little bit sorry for Hauritz, because he's a good man. We had a good chat after the last Ashes at The Oval, and I rate him as a bowler," he said.
"It's not a concern for us, because we've seen Kev destroy left-arm spinners. Any batsman can get out to any bowler any time. I know it doesn't worry Kevin - and it doesn't worry the rest of us."