England are distracted says Ponting

Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes Andrew Flintoff's impending retirement could prove a distraction for England in the Ashes decider.

The match, which gets under way at the Oval tomorrow, will be the all-rounder's last before retiring from Test cricket.

Ponting said: "That's one thing that they are going to have to worry about I guess over the next few days.

"There will be some distractions there, even if you read the papers today it's all about Andrew going into the retirement as you would expect.

"They will have those things to deal with, but that's not for us to worry."

England go into the match needing a victory to regain the Ashes following their comprehensive defeat in the fourth Test, while Jonathan Trott will make his debut.

"It's fair to say that he's (England captain Andrew Strauss) got a few more things on his plate right at the moment that we have," Ponting said.

But he added: "It's amazing how quickly things can change and we are very aware of that."