Warne can finish on a high to kill England's big dream

FORMER AUSTRALIA TEST STAR AMID all the pictures of English celebration and Australian commiseration at Trent Bridge, one image stood out for me. The TV camera that zoomed in on Shane Warne, as he sat alone on the balcony, captured a man hurting in defeat.

Like Glenn McGrath, who missed the Fourth Test because of injury, Warne has played a huge part in years of Aussie success.

And, like McGrath, all being well, he now faces his last Test on English soil.

Losing the Ashes will happen to Australia some time. Indeed, there'll be a great many people at The Oval hoping it happens this week, or next Monday at the latest.

But, for me, Warne is the most obvious reason for believing England are going to have to wait a while yet.

He will be desperate not to finish his international career in this country on the wrong side of a 2-1 or 3-1 scoreline - and McGrath, who I still hope will be fit to play on Thursday, is sure to be feeling exactly the same way.

So, as you can tell, I'm plumping for an Australia win to see the series squared at 2-2. But they will need to scrap as hard as they've ever scrapped to achieve that result.

Ricky Ponting's team have struggled to come to terms with the brand of cricket played by England since the Lord's Test. They've been knocked out of the comfort zone and are still trying to put things right going into the last lap of the tour. Getting bashed about for 500 runs in a day by Essex last weekend probably suggests the search for answers must continue!

Actually, though, that performance did not worry me unduly because Warne and McGrath were not playing and it should have hammered home to everyone else that a lot more discipline will be needed come the Test.

As for the batters - and it's the batters who have really struggled this series - most of them had a good hit at Chelmsford.

It is the huge increase in intensity that Australia's top order has to handle at The Oval.

Playing with freedom and confidence is what all the batsmen are trying to do. But England's bowlers have been relentless in refusing to let them relax and, more often than not, that build-up of pressure has told.

Most people like to see dashing strokeplay. Yet what I would like to witness from Australia this week is a 250-ball century because, given the way Michael Vaughan's attack has been performing, patience could be the only answer.

We certainly need something different-when it comes to the first innings.

Scores of 308, 302 and 218 have left Australia a long way behind at the halfway stage of the last three Tests.

A huge amount of credit for that must go to England's attack. They've been terrific. And just about the only way I can see Australia counteracting bowling of such quality is to really focus on their partnerships.

Take the one right at the top of the order. It looks now as though Matthew Hayden will keep his place - and there's no doubt he and Justin Langer have been one of Test cricket's finest opening pairs.

But not even two batsmen with records like theirs want to be stuck at one end with Andrew Flintoff, for example, working them over. They need to graft together to try to stop pressure building up by rotating the strike - and it's the same all the way down the line. It's pretty basic stuff, of course, but important all the same.

ONE thing that might work in Australia's favour, concentrating the mind and making it all crystal clear, is the simplicity of the situation. There are no ifs and buts, no more chances just around the corner.

They have to get it right and win at The Oval or say goodbye to the Ashes.

England, on the other hand, will be trying to block out of their minds that a draw is good enough. From all I've heard and read I'm sure they intend to be just as positive and just as keen to burst out of the blocks as has been the case all series.

That's absolutely the right course of action for them. It can be difficult, though, not to tense up when the big prize is almost within reach.

What I am certain of - weather permitting - is that we will see another amazing Test because I just feel this series is destined to keep producing high drama. And my gut feeling is Australia will pull a win out of the bag.

They are still the world champions and they've still got a great deal of talent in the side.

Every member of the team is under the spotlight because Australia have not lost an Ashes series for nearly 20 years.

Extending that unbeaten record is now a huge challenge - a huge challenge someone like Warne, for example, won't be able to resist.

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