Australia fear Andrew Flintoff factor in Ashes decider

Andrew Flintoff's anticipated return to the England team tomorrow is certain to give home supporters at The Brit Oval a big boost in confidence.

"We know whenever he plays for England the crowd gets a lot more involved in the game," said Australia captain Ponting.

"Whenever he is bowling in this series the whole ground just lifts a little bit and the difference between the first three Tests and the one at Headingley was that they just didn't have him to turn to and the crowd didn't get involved in the game.

"We dominated from the start at Headingley but it was a totally different feeling, so we know what to expect this week. We've experienced it before over here and full credit to our guys - with the exception of one spell at Lord's I think we have combated what he's done in the series particularly well."

Flintoff's five-wicket haul in the second innings at Lord's led England to victory and a 1-0 lead in the series. But he missed the Fourth Test at Headingley because of his chronic knee problem and Australia stormed to an equalising victory.

The 31-year-old all-rounder is desperate to sign off with another match-winning performance in his final appearance before retiring from Test cricket but he's not the only one.

Ponting is probably about to play his last Ashes Test in this country and the 34-year-old insists he could not be more up for it.

"I spoke to the guys before the First Test and told them how excited I was about the whole series and how much it meant to me," said Ponting. "But I don't remember being as excited as this for a game.

"I was up at 6.30am yesterday, wanting to get down to breakfast nice and early and get to training.

"I can't wait for tomorrow to come around. And I can sense that feeling from a lot of other players in the group as well."

Having led Australia to an Ashes series defeat in 2005, Ponting gained a huge slice of revenge just 18 months later with the 5-0 whitewash win over England Down Under. However, victory this week would still be sweet for Ponting given the events of four years ago.

"It would be great, but when we lost in 2005 I don't think it hurt me any more than it hurt the next guy," insisted Australia's captain. "It's the same this time — it's a special series to all of us."

The Test should be special, too, for England debut-maker Jonathan Trott, who has been added to the batting line-up following the team's dire display at Headingley. But according to Ponting, bringing in a newcomer at this stage "probably shows a bit of desperation on their behalf".