Whichever side wins today's toss in the third npower Ashes Test at Old Trafford will not lose the match.

There will be no messing about; never mind cloud cover or the appearance of Peter Marron's pitch, the tosswinner will bat first and hope to post the sort of total that will keep themselves out of trouble.

Forget Edgbaston. That is history, albeit only four magical days away. Another day, another dollar, and both sides know it. England might have the momentum but Australia have more positives to take forward into the focal Test of a marvellous five-match series.

England know they sneaked in by two runs in a match they should have won by a distance and would have done but for the umpiring incompetence of Billy Bowden. The sooner he concentrates on getting the basics right instead of trying to establish himself as a character, the better.

Australia know that they came within two runs of creating Ashes history, despite having a two-man attack as soon as Glenn McGrath trod on that ball.

What happened immediately Geraint Jones scooped up the winning catch was as important as the result.

Andrew Flintoff broke celebrating ranks to go straight to his biggest enemy, the inconsolable Brett Lee, and instigate a mutual embrace that will go into history as one of the biggest gestures of sportsmanship ever witnessed by millions in a televised event.

But, now we start again, thanks to the England & Wales Cricket Board's total incompetence in condensing five Ashes Tests into seven weeks. At least, as the saying goes, they shoot horses don't they? But cricketers have to jump through an administrative hoop which is unforgivably driven by pure commerce, with no regard for the cricketers.

Today's third Test was supposed to be played on a pitch best suited to Shane Warne. Except that it won't be.

Old Trafford Chief Executive Jim Cumbes - not unknown as a goal-keeper for Tranmere, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa, as well as a decent seamer for Lancashire, Surrey, Worcestershire and Warwickshire --says that "the pitch is hard and firm and it was like steeping on paving stones when I walked on it.

" Our groundsman, Peter Marron, expects it will have pace and bounce. Anyone expecting it to turn square on day one can forget it.

Historically, you would pick another spinner, but if this wicket carries on as it has been, I would go with pace."

As England will and Australia might, dependent on whether Brett Lee's infected left knee has been cleared by two overnight stays in a Birmingham hospital. If he can't play, Australia would be mad to keep both Mike Kasprowicz and Jason Gillespie ahead of leg-spinner Stuart MacGill.

Neither experienced seamer is worth his place anymore and the normally ruthless Australian selectors have already shown patience denied to the Waugh brothers.

The couple of days since Sunday's historic denouement have not stemmed a posthumous gush that is embarrassing. The ongoing curse of contractual commitments by players, allowed by the ECB, is self-defeating. The only thing that matters, as shown so gloriously last Sunday, is deeds on the field.

Who wants to read the ghosted pap appearing under the by- lines of underperformers Andrew Strauss and Matthew Hoggard, plus the thoughts of Ian Bell and Geraint Jones?

The Aussies are a good bunch - hence their instinctive move into the England dressing room with the odd crate of beer, within 10 minutes of Sunday's close of play. They knew they stuffed up the match by mis-using the toss after losing Glenn McGrath, but they are well rounded enough to recognise that the nature of the historic match transcended the result.

Nice to show such a respect for history, as they always do by visiting famous World War battlefields in France before the start of an Ashes tour in this country.

And what about Tuesday night when they had an open invitation to Old Trafford for Manchester United's Champions League match against Debrecen? Their coach driver is one Geoff Goodwin, who happens to be chairman of Nationwide Conference club Altrincham, who had a home game on Tuesday. As Adam Gilchrist said, "we wanted to support Geoff, so that is where we went."

They beat England with three bowlers at Lord's and lost by two runs at Edgbaston with two bowlers. With or without Lee, they will be mighty hard to beat in the third Test, particularly if they win the toss.

All credit to England for a marvellous win at Edgbaston, but they need to improve still further if that is not to be the highlight of their summer.

Andrew Strauss, Bell, Vaughan, Geraint Jones and Hoggard still have plenty to prove - and that is nearly half a side. Flintoff can only do so much.