England go into the third Test at Edgbaston without their leading batsman but confident their talisman will be fit to face an Australian side desperate to level thte series.
Andrew Flintoff's hostile fast bowling inspired England to a thrilling 115-run victory at Lord's but the loss of Kevin Pietersen through injury has dented the hosts' hopes of winning back the Ashes.
Flintoff, retiring from Test cricket after the series, has been resting the creaking body he hopes will carry him through three more matches and captain Andrew Strauss knows he must handle his leading bowler carefully.
"As a captain I will be juggling the bowling attack, depending on the match situation," Strauss told reporters.
"But I don't want Fred bowling millions of overs when conditions aren't in his favour. It is important to look after him."
Australia were leading the 2005 Ashes series 1-0 heading into the Edgbaston Test when leading fast bowler Glenn McGrath twisted his ankle just before the start of the first day's play and England went on to secure a dramatic two-run victory.
Ian Bell, who has played 46 Tests, will replace Pietersen and the 27-year-old has a golden opportunity to re-establish himself in the England middle-order.
MODEST RECORD
Bell has a modest record against Australia but the touring side's vice-captain Michael Clarke said they were not expecting England to be weakened.
"Kevin Pietersen is a fantastic player but so is Ian Bell," Clarke said. "It is important that we focus on Ian now and we will be watching him a lot and working out how we are going to get him out."
Clarke also said his team mates were prepared for some more "stick" from Flintoff.
"Everybody said he's an amazing player and he has been for some time. I'm not that disappointed that I won't have to face him again after this series in test cricket, he's a wonderful bowler and it's always a contest.
"He always performs under pressure and no doubt he'll be ready to give us a bit more stick Thursday."
Australia will still be without Brett Lee, their most experienced fast bowler, and are likely to keep faith with Mitchell Johnson despite his ineffective performances in the first two tests. "He's still taking wickets and in his game he still feels pretty comfortable," wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said. "His pace is still up and it's all pretty good.
"His form is not as big a concern as everyone is making it out to be." England are likely to resist the temptation to recall fast bowler Steve Harmison on a pitch which usually favours batsmen, and the match could be disrupted by the weather with heavy rain forecast in the Birmingham area.
Probable teams:
England - Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Graham Onions.
Australia - Ricky Ponting (captain), Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus.
