Warne warns against reversing of the tide

Despite the fact that it is Australia who narrowly avoided a 2-1 series deficit in the last match at Old Trafford, Shane Warne has insisted England will be facing the bigger challenge when the fourth Test gets underway at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

England bounced back from a hiding at Lord's to draw level with a two-run win at Edgbaston and were only a wicket away from going 2-1 up as Australia clung on for a draw at Old Trafford, thanks to Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath, who batted out the last four overs. But Warne insisted it was Michael Vaughan's men, not his team, who had more to lose.

"We've got two Tests to go and we really only have to win one of those so all the pressure is on England," Warne told AFP on Tuesday. "They have to win, as simple as that, otherwise we retain the Ashes.

"In the back of their minds will be the thought that they've played very, very well in the last two Test matches but we held on for a draw [at Old Trafford] and they only got over the line by a couple of runs [at Edgbaston] despite outplaying us.

"They'll be disappointed they are not 2-1 up at this stage," Warne added. "But from our point of view we have got to play better cricket. Talk is cheap, it's about performances and doing the business. We haven't done it in the last couple of games but I can absolutely guarantee you we are going to do it in these next two Test matches."

One of the major reasons that Australia have struggled is England's new-found mastery of reverse-swing, and Warne acknowledged as much. "We've always played against reverse-swing but when you've got guys like Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones bowling at 90-95 mph and not bowling too many freebies, it's tough to play."

Jones, 26, has been England's leading practitioner of the art, and told journalists that he first learnt how to do so as a member of England's Academy in Adelaide four years ago. "I got an old ball and started messing around with it in the nets and just took it from there," he said. "It's part of my forte. I enjoy bowling with the old ball, not many people do. I know exactly what it's going to do and where to bowl it."

Jones took a Test-best 6 for 53 in the first innings at Old Trafford, and added that Glamorgan's home ground of Sophia Gardens in Cardiff was the ideal venue for his style of bowling. "It's so dry there and you have to do something different because it's so flat and slow," he said. "I've just brought it into the Test matches and I've done a decent job."

Two Australians have been particularly closely connected with his development - England's bowling coach, Troy Cooley and his opposite number in the Aussie squad, Michael Kasprowicz, who was an overseas player at Glamorgan.

"Troy is the best bowling coach I've ever worked with," said Jones. "It does help that we're best mates as well. We work really hard together in the gym and we work together in the evenings. We're really close. It always helps to have a guy to turn to. If I've had a rough day, I'll have a chat with Troy, we'll work on things the next day and do work well together.

"I've also worked well with Kasper, he reverses the ball well. He's a good guy, he's easily approachable and he's a lot a more experienced than me. He's got something like 900 first-class wickets. He gave me a lot of advice and he's a really good boy to work with."

Jones's career almost ended in Australia in 2002 when he sustained a grievous knee injury while fielding during the first Test at Brisbane that left him sidelined for 18 months. "It's a dream come true," Jones admitted about being back in the reckoning. "I missed out on a big series there, I'd only played two Test matches and my career was nearly over. But I've worked hard, I've come back from it and I'm in the thick of a big series here."

And he insisted England, for all the disappointment of drawing at Old Trafford, remained upbeat. "We're feeling very confident. We've showed how good we've become. We've done that the last two years and we are doing it against the best now. We are putting them under pressure. You can't relax for one minute against Australia but it would be nice to go 2-1 up here and see what happens in the last Test match."