Determination against desperation

The Oval is anybody's game. Can England recreate the scenes of 2005, lining up at Buckingham Palace or stopping the traffic at Trafalgar Square in a few days' time? Unlikely, writes Peter Roebuck, in the Sydney Morning Herald. For five days, Australian determination will be pitted against English desperation, with the winner to take all.

Ricky Ponting's team has improved as the series has gone along and now needs to hold its nerve for five more days. As much can be told from the form of the pacemen. Four years ago the speedsters were comprehensively out-bowled by a hostile quartet that moved the ball all day, every day, and hardly gave the batsmen a moment's peace - they took 75 wickets at an average cost of 27 runs (their Australian counterparts claimed 51 at 40 apiece).

Andrew Flintoff may have finally ended the search for the 'new Botham' but his imminent retirement has already prompted the search for the 'new Flintoff'. In the Times, Simon Wilde singles out two candidates to fill Flintoff's shoes in the Test side - Luke Wright and Adil Rashid.