CRICKET/Challenge final: Victory for England over Australia today will represent a resounding cry of intent ahead of the Ashes and Andrew Flintoff has urged his team-mates to rise to the occasion.
The two old foes meet just once more before the start of the Ashes Test series on July 21st, in the NatWest Challenge decider at The Oval today.
Averting back-to-back defeats against the tourists, who looked something like their former selves in levelling things at Lord's on Sunday, promises to be the most significant examination of English credentials to date this summer.
"It is the biggest game of the summer so far, it's 1-1, both sides will desperately want to win and we will be trying our damnedest to do so," said Flintoff, whose innings of 87 on Sunday proved in vain.
"We are enjoying playing, getting the chance to test ourselves against the best and we have shown we can compete with the likes of Australia.
"The spirit is good, there is a great confidence about the side and I think everyone wants to get the Ashes under way. All the hype has been now and we just want to start playing.
"The confidence has translated from the Test side into the one-day set-up and when we play Australia it shows the true strength of our team.
"We have got talented cricketers who can stand toe-to-toe with anyone."
It was Flintoff who fuelled hopes of another dramatic recovery at Lord's, a week after England fought back from 33 for five to secure a last-ball stalemate at the same ground, but a century from the previously out-of-form Ricky Ponting rendered his 112-ball knock worthless, other than building confidence.
Flintoff will not have had a first-class knock for nine weeks when the Ashes begins next Thursday, his summer workload decreased by the inability of Bangladesh to take more than three wickets in either England innings of the 2-0 series win.
"I have not done a great deal of batting so far this year, even when I have had the opportunity I have got out," said Flintoff, reflecting on his maiden half-century against the Australians.
"The situation dictated that I got my head down and batted sensibly, my feet started moving again and things started coming back together a little bit.
"You can spend time in the nets and on the bowling machine but nothing beats time in the middle. I feel a lot better about things with the way I played, I would be lying if I said I didn't.
"Ideally everyone would like to hit the ground running when the Ashes come around, you want to feel in good touch with bat and ball, so for me the Lord's innings was important."
Once again the prospect of Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen batting in tandem proved a letdown for the 28,000 crowd when the latter fell to man of the match Brett Lee.
Comparisons between their power-hitting are inevitable but Flintoff, who struck 10 fours and two sixes, nevertheless withdraws from those suggestions.
"Kevin is obviously a very exciting batsman but I have done well over the past 18 months playing the way I do and I cannot change that," he said.
"I am trying to refine my game a little bit but I cannot change my method of scoring runs.
"I have been searching for a bit of form so I haven't been at my best this season but overall I feel my one-day game has got better.
"I can now nudge the ball around and wait on my shots rather than go looking for them."
ENGLAND (from): M Vaughan (capt), M Trescothick, A Strauss, K Pietersen, A Flintoff, P Collingwood, G Jones (wkt), A Giles, S Jones, D Gough, S Harmison, V Solanki, M Prior, C Tremlett, J Lewis.
AUSTRALIA (from): R Ponting (capt), A Gilchrist (wkt), M Hayden, D Martyn, A Symonds, M Hussey, M Clarke, G Hogg, B Lee, J Gillespie, G McGrath, M Kasprowicz, S Katich, B Haddin, S Watson.
Umpires: R Koertzen (SA), D Shepherd
Third Umpire: J Lloyds.
Match referee: R Mahanama (SL).
