CRICKET THE ASHES:ANDREW FLINTOFF will have a chance to repeat his Ashes-winning exploits of four years ago when he makes what now seems to be an inevitable appearance in the final Test at The Oval next week.

Discussions between Flintoff's surgeon, Andy Williams, the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) chief medical officer, Nick Peirce, and Flintoff's physio, Dave Roberts, ended with a unanimous view that his knee would recover sufficiently for one famous final hurrah.

Flintoff's presence is widely seen as essential for England, whose spiritless batting and gauche bowling at Headingley as they lost by an innings and 80 runs in less than three days has punctured the belief that a series-winning victory next week is within their capabilities.

An ECB statement last night said: "Andrew Flintoff's right-knee injury was reviewed today by his specialist in conjunction with the ECB and Lancashire medical teams. The advice received was that the swelling in his knee has significantly eased following the decision by the England management team to rest him from the last Test and that subject to further rest and intensive treatment, he will be available for selection at The Oval."

England had more good news when a scan on James Anderson's tweaked hamstring also revealed "no evidence of a significant tear".

That is not quite the same as announcing he is 100 per cent fit, but England did add "it is anticipated that he will be available for selection".

Flintoff had been desperate to play at Headingley, only for England's captain, Andrew Strauss, and the coach, Andy Flower, to conclude there was no certainty he was fit. The logic of that decision was partially forgotten in the humiliation that followed, but the ECB remains adamant they had no choice. If Flintoff does inspire an England victory at The Oval, they will claim vindication.

Flower added yesterday: "If the advice from the specialist is that he will be fit enough to take part as an all-rounder at The Oval, then we'll listen to that and we'll listen to Fred's information about his own body as well."

While Flintoff's recovery is a timely boost, Flower was not as upbeat about his batsmen following their humiliating fourth Test defeat. He took the drastic decision to release five of his players back to their counties yesterday, while Geoff Miller, the national selector, hinted changes could be made ahead of the series decider, and refused to rule out a recall for Mark Ramprakash.

"We are number five in the world because we're inconsistent," Flower said. "What happened (at Headingley) is exactly why we're ranked in that position.

"When we can put some consistency into our performances, we're going to climb that ladder. At the moment that is the gulf between the two sides.

"That does not mean we can't win the last Test match. We've beaten these guys already in this series, but we're going to have to play really well.

"The output in terms of runs from our middle order was simply not good enough. We've scored one century in four Tests while the opposition have scored seven. And that is a clear an indication of what's happening."

Flower refused to be drawn on possible changes for the Oval Test, but defended Ravi Bopara, who has averaged 15 in the series so far - fewer even than Anderson.

Bopara will play for Essex against Middlesex at Lord's today along with Alastair Cook, while Ian Bell, Graeme Swann and Graham Onions were all released.

"We shall try to work out how we can win the game at The Oval, because that's what we've got to do. If we need to go with an alternative, we will look at who our alternatives are," Miller said.

When asked about Ramprakash, Miller replied: "He's an option. He hasn't retired from international cricket so we will have a look. But there was a reason why Mark was left out in the first place. We will have to look and see if that has now changed."

GuardianService

2009 Ashes

First Test (Swalec Stadium, Cardiff) Match drawn

Second Test (Lord's London) England won by 115 runs

Third Test (Edgbaston, Birmingham) Match drawn

Fourth Test (Headingley, Leeds) Australia won by an innings and 80 runs

Fifth Test (The Oval, London) Starts Thursday week, August 20th