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Australia or the weather will have to do an awful lot wrong for them not to win and level the series, putting the pressure back on England to win the last Test at the Oval to reclaim the Ashes, writes Malcolm Conn in Australia's Daily Telegraph .

Kanishkaa Balachandran

25-Feb-2013

Without their larger than life superstars Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, England has looked less than mortal in the fourth Test at Headingley. Very similar in fact to the performance of the side that was flogged 5-0 in Australia a few years ago, when Flintoff was there as captain and Pietersen the best performed England batsman.

Australia's demolition job on the opening day at Headingley was due to the ability of their bowlers to attack in pairs, refusing to dish up easy boundaries. Australia's attack looked more dangerous than previously and the home side's top-order batting seemed more threadbare, writes Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Happily Australia had been able to choose a strong side. Seldom have team announce-ments been as eagerly awaited. From the Australian viewpoint, attention focused on Clarke's stint in the nets, Haddin's work with the gloves and the sight of Clark limbering up.

Lawrence Booth writes in the Guardian that Ricky Ponting, world-class batsman and captain of the No. 1 side, can't be suppressed for long, as he showed at Headingley on Friday.

In the same paper, Vic Marks analyses Steve Harmison's performance on comeback, and says the fast bowler needs to show more control than anger. Michael Henderson in the Daily Telegraph is harsher on Harmison, calling his bowling "unspeakable filth".

And in the Independent, Angus Fraser praises the intelligent bowling of Australia's fast bowlers.

Australia tour of England and Scotland

Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo