Aggressive England face Lord’s Test

England go into today's Second Ashes Test at Lord's in an aggressive frame of mind, looking to field a five-man bowling attack with or without Andrew Flintoff, who announced his impending retirement from Test cricket yesterday and who is struggling for fitness.

A late scare for Kevin Pietersen was dismissed when he had an injection that will allow him to play, and the selection questions for England will revolve around whether both Steve Harmison and Graham Onions (above) of Durham will play. If the two quicks are chosen, it means Monty Panesar and Stuart Broad will be discarded.

The Australians are likely to name an unchanged side, with the only possible new face being that of bowler Stuart Clark.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Mike Atherton, the Times: "In recent years, there has been one main reason why Australia have played so well at Lord's, and you don't need to be a history graduate or a student of cultural phenomena to know why. You just need to have watched the Narromine Nagger, otherwise known as Glenn McGrath, create havoc from the Pavilion End. McGrath had an outstanding record at Lord's - 26 wickets at 11.50 in three Tests, with three five-wicket hauls - and his absence this year is the biggest reason why England can look forward to greater returns and with greater optimism than before."

Mike Selvey, the Guardian: "It would be entirely consistent with the way in which Flintoff plays the game that the finite time he has left playing cricket's supreme form will be spent trying to elevate his game to the highest level, to show that he is not going out as a spent force but as a wounded hero. There is no pretence any more, no wondering if he throttles back here, then he can go for broke there. The chances of him completing five full Test matches are remote, but it won't be for the want of trying. When given the opportunity, he will bludgeon his way into the Australian batting like a wrecking ball into a derelict building, ramping it up, like Nigel Tufnel, to 11; he will bat without fear; and he will catch swallows."

Derek Pringle, Daily Telegraph: "Only 31, FIlntoff's plan, injuries willing, is to carry on until the end of this Ashes series. Thereafter, he aims to play only one-day and Twenty20 cricket for England, Lancashire and whichever Indian Premier League (currently the Chennai Super Kings) team bid for his services. A colossal figure in full flight, with bat or ball, a wincing toll of injuries has meant England have had to get used to coping without him in recent times. Yet, that it not the same as not missing him, something Andrew Strauss, England's captain, was quick to acknowledge on Wednesday." ·