HIGH up at The Oval there is a media eyrie and once a puffed-out hack has recovered his breath he can feel like an emperor.

Yesterday a merry bunting of Union Jacks and flags of St. George fluttered jauntily. in a late summer breeze and the houses of parliament, gothic and preening, could just be seen as well as the austere MI5 building. There was jingoism in the rarefied air and it felt tempting to, give the little people below, an earful of Henry V. Perhaps England coach David Lloyd should take his players up there.

Down at ground level life looks more tricky. England must beat Pakistan in the third and final Cornhill Test, which starts today, to level the series 1-1, and they look unlikely to do so.

The Oval has not been bad to England. They have won 31 of their 78 Tests here, with only 14 defeats. The victories in 1991, when Phil Tufnell and David Lawrence bowled out West Indies, in 1993, when Australia went down by 161 runs and in 1994, when Devon Malcolm had not yet met Nelson Mandela and bowled out South Africa, stand out boldly in the memory.

On the other hand England have won only one of their last 18 Tests against Pakistan; and since 1965, when split tours were introduced in this country, there have been 23 three-match series and only once has a side come back from 0-1 to level the series.

England captain Mike Atherton and Lloyd said all the right things yesterday but the mood was one of grim optimism and the battle cry was more of a battle mutter; it was more gone ho than gung ho.

Atherton and Ray Illingworth have improved the professionalism of this side and Lloyd has done much for the players' enthusiasm but for all that Pakistan, remain clearly, iridescently the stronger side. They have, perhaps, the best two fast bowlers in their history and a match-winning-leg spinner. Against this England have seamers who resemble a bunch of picadors looking for a matador, while Ian Salisbury, despite his improved control, has yet to prove his case at this level.

There was little firm team news yesterday, although Atherton, confirmed that in the likely event of England playing just one slow bowler it would be leg-spinner Salisbury and not off-spinner Robert Croft. They will hope to bat first so that Alec Stewart can open the innings.

Pakistan captain Wasim Akram hinted that fast bowler Mohammad Akram could come. into the side in place of Ata-ur-Rehman. He also complimented Moin Khan's wicketkeeping at Headingley, where he weighed in with a handy hundred, so the return of Rashid Latif, the first choice stumper, is likely to be delayed. Batsman Aamir Sohail, recovered from his hand injury, will replace Sha dab Kabir at the top of the order.

Waqar Younis, formerly of Surrey, will feel at home at The Oval but some sensed yesterday that the captain, Wasim Akram, could be the more dangerous. He has taken only five wickets in this series but is only six away from becoming the 11th bowler to reach 300. "I hope I can take care of that in the first innings," he said. I have been getting wickets in the county games. I didn't play in the last game because of a side strain but I'm OK now. I'm hoping tomorrow will be my day."

England will be hoping that the pitch, which should have more pace than those at Lord's and Leeds, might unsettle Pakistan batsmen who feel more at home when the bounce is low. "We feel their batsmen are get-outable," said Lloyd. "They give you a chance and you can get into them. It would be nice to get that big bloke in as early as possible," he added, referring to Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Lloyd is anxious that England, should build on the slender psychological advantage won at Headingley, where they topped, Pakistan's big first innings total. "We fight rearguard actions well. Now we must go to the next stage and start winning matches."

In these days of self-assessment Lloyd has asked his players to write down what they believe to be their strong points, so that he can remind them of these before the game. "I did it at Lancashire years ago. Self-expression is important. And it's important not to dwell on what you can't do."

It can only be hoped that not too many players were left sucking their pencils and staring at a blank piece of paper.