ENGLAND IN LAST-CHANCE SALOON

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Harmison - finally shone in Sydney.

By Andrew Ramsey

Four and a half Tests into the five-Test series, and England has its last chance to show that it has learned something from the ritualistic flogging it's copped in Australia.

In the wake of defeats in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, skipper Andrew Flintoff and Duncan Fletcher have relentlessly banged on about the major difference between the two teams.

And every time it's been the same intangible answer.

The problem, according to the touring team's brainstrust, is that Australia has somehow managed to seize the priceless opportunities that sporadically present themselves at various times during a Test.

England, they have bemoaned, has managed to have the door slammed shut in its face every time it has found a way to squeeze it marginally ajar.

What realistically looms as the last chance of this tour now sits within England's grasp.

Having coughed up another chance to post a meaningful score when its middle and lower orders succumbed to the second new ball this morning, the England bowlers and fielders did the job against Australia's best batters.

To have four Australians back in the pavilion with the deficit still a sizeable 136 runs, England knew it was suddenly in possession of the whip when rain intervened at the most unfortunate time.

The secret to England avoiding a five-nil whitewash is its bowlers' ability to do something with a ball that is now 55 overs old.

That's where Flintoff's team has been so weak in the previous four matches.

With the Kookaburra ball showing little or no tendency to reverse swing, and the pitches offering little in the way of variable bounce and turn for the finger spinners, England has struggled for penetration once the ball has become soft.

Not helping its cause is the fact its largely without the service of its two most dangerous seam bowlers in this game.

Matthew Hoggard's loss to a side strain robbed Flintoff of his best strike option with new ball and old. And the captain's ankle injury has now deteriorated to the point where three-over spells seem to be his limit.

The additional bounce on offer in this SCG pitch has regenerated Steve Harmison who, after a bitterly disappointing series, has belated a shot at redemption tomorrow when he must make early inroads into Australia's middle-order.

With James Anderson's best chance of accounting for an Australian batsman being from his outfield throws, it's Harmison's responsibility to seize the final moment likely to come England's way this summer.

After six weeks of telling us that the single biggest change needed to reverse the fortunes of the tour is to grasp the opportunities, England has one last chance to match its words with deeds.

If it lets this opportunity slip, it heartily deserves to lose five-nil.