Stand-in England captain Michael Atherton has declared defiance in the face of Australian danger going into the must-win Third Test at Trent Bridge.

England's injury problems have been well documented, but Atherton insists that the spirit in the camp is good, saying: "I think we've been pretty upbeat going into all of the games. It was a bit of problem in the first game with people coming and going, but I felt the attitude was good at Lord's and I think the attitude in the squad is fine here too."

Atherton's Test debut came at Trent Bridge in 1993, though for the first day he could only watch as Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor scored 301 for no wicket. E

England's failure to take 20 Australian wickets in either Ashes game this summer means that the home side will probably line up with five bowlers. "We thought the balance of the side was right at Lord's given the history of the conditions there," said Atherton. "We may feel we might need a slightly different balance of the team here.

"The history of the conditions here is that it's a normally a good pitch - although there looks to be a bit of grass on this one."

The England opener preferred to focus on his own side, rather than dwelling too much on the scintillating Australian performances in England this summer: "I don't really think about the Australians," he claimed. "I'm only concerned with our performance and there are clearly areas we can improve on.

"We've shown over 18 months we are a good team and we can play some good cricket. We've fallen short of those standards in the first two games and I'm only interested in seeing the side achieve those standards again."

Australian captain Steve Waugh expects England to come out "pretty hard: we know they are a good side, capable of beating anyone and we've got to make sure we are switched on. We've had to play well in the two Tests, we've had to play well to win. There have been moments when England have had an opportunity to take control of a match; they haven't done that. But that's not saying they won't do it."

If England are to switch off the Australian run machine and take control, they will need to return to the sharpness of fielding they showed on their winter tours, rather than making sloppy mistakes as have happened all too often in the previous two Ashes Tests; Adam Gilchrist has been dropped six times in two matches.

"We've been working hard in practice to put that right," promised Atherton. "We always put in hard work in the slip catching. I don't think anybody could say we dropped some catches because it is lack of preparation. We try to make sure our practice is intense and try to put good habits into practice.

"It's not rocket science practising to catch a cricket ball, but I think it's the way you go about it - making sure your practice is upbeat and intense and trying to simulate the match conditions."

Catches may win matches, but England's batting and bowling must also improve if they are to beat the Australians and keep the Ashes alive. Atherton is confident that England can put together the necessary performance: "We know they can be beaten, they were beaten in the last Test series they played (against India). If we get the performance right over the five days, you get a result out of it - be it a draw or a victory."

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