England are so desperate for some middle order inspiration that 39-year-old veteran Mark Ramprakash is being touted for a shock recall. Can he really be the answer to the latest crisis, asks Stephen Brenkley

Flintoff's desire to play at The Oval is understandable but the wisdom of it is another matter

But talisman's knee shows improvement and he looks likely to be fit for final Test

Three months ago Ravi Bopara left Lord's with the No 3 position for England seemingly secured for seasons to come. Today he returns there to play for Essex against Middlesex with perhaps two innings to save his place for the final Ashes Test at The Oval next week.

Chairman of selectors Geoff Miller has defended the decision to omit Andrew Flintoff from the England side for the fourth Ashes Test, insisting it was right to put the advice of the medical team over the all-rounder's wishes.

Ricky Ponting's Australia crush Andrew Strauss's England at Headingley to level Ashes series

England 102 & 263 Australia 445

Two moments from an eventful but abbreviated third day here told the tale. First came Brad Haddin's dive to clutch an outside edge from his counterpart, Matt Prior. It was a fine catch for any gloveman, superb for a bloke with a broken digit. Then, at the fall of the final wicket the Australians celebrated; and then trooped from the field with Mitchell Johnson leading the way. His fall had been Australia's fall. By the same token his rise and his team's rally were connected.

The early morning message on the electronic scoreboard was both good to know and 100 per cent accurate: "Welcome to Gloriously Sunny Headingley Carnegie," it read.

So Jimmy Anderson's record of Test innings without a duck has reached 54. No England player has gone so long from the start of a career. But at what cost? At Headingley on Friday, Anderson pushed into the off-side and set off for a suicidal single. True, England were desperate for runs but this was a crazy risk given the parlous state of their innings. Anderson made his ground by diving but, it seemed, tweaked a hamstring. It might or might not have affected his bowling, which was dreadful. It is a lovely record to have but the sooner Anderson registers a duck – and it could happen as soon as today – the better it may be for all concerned. He has 24 innings to go to equal AB De Villiers' record of 78 duckless innings from the start of a career, 65 to match David Gower's all-time record sequence, in mid-career, of 119 innings in which he was not dismissed without scoring. One man with the opposite of Anderson's predilection for not getting ducks (does that make him a drake?) is Steve Harmison. Unencumbered by the need to score, Harmison came and went in short order and has now registered 20 Test ducks. Thus he went ahead of Derek Underwood, Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Caddick, and now needs one more to overtake Mike Atherton to hold the England record on his own.

A couple of days in Leeds have dramatically changed the Australians' outlook, writes Peter Roebuck at Headingley

Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke extended his excellent form with the bat to enhance the tourists' position in the fourth npower Ashes Test this morning.

Inside Cricket

England today revealed that Andrew Flintoff faces the prospect of another operation on his right knee once the current Ashes series is completed.