IT’S TIME TO DELIVER

Ashes fever is at its peak but after the epic drama so far, which England will turn up?

So what will happen now? Will England build on that magical last hour at Headingley and take control of the Ashes at old Trafford to stoke the cricket fever sweeping the country? or will they be rubbish again, as they were in that awful first innings?

With this England team, it is impossible to predict. one cannot rely on the ‘momentum’ being with them because that is an alien concept to a side who, under Joe Root, have embarked on a rollercoaster ride of Test highs and lows.

What is certain is that today’s fourth Test is the most eagerly anticipated since the heady days of 2005, when thousands were turned away on the final day at this same ground with Ashes fever at its peak.

It will be a redeveloped and greatly enhanced old Trafford that will be packed to the rafters again today to see if England can complete a summer that would eclipse even Michael Vaughan’s golden year if they pull off both World Cup and Ashes triumphs.

And those lucky enough to be in the crowd for each of the first four sold-out days could not have a more enticing prospect in front of them today, with the Ashes balanced on a knife-edge at 1-1 with two Tests to play.

The expectation will surely be at its most fervent when Jofra Archer runs in to bowl his first ball at Steve Smith since hitting him on the back of the neck at Lord’s and knocking him out of the third Test.

And how about when Ben Stokes walks in to ‘resume’ the extraordinary batting that saw him produce one of the greatest of all Test innings at Headingley in what became one of the greatest of all Test matches?

Equally, there will be plenty of England players with much to prove, not least the latest opening partnership of Rory Burns and Joe Denly, who will face their own trial by short ball at the hands of Australia’s outstanding attack.

Then there is the question of whether Jason Roy can flourish down the order at four after England abandoned their experiment of asking one of the great white-ball opening destroyers to repeat the trick against the moving Test ball.

England sprang a surprise yesterday when Root said Craig overton would play here in place of Chris Woakes, who has looked mentally and physically shot after the extreme efforts of winning the World Cup.

There is no doubt England want to get Sam Curran back into the side. But they feel this is not the right pitch or venue for him to act as their third seamer.

So opportunity knocks for Somerset all-rounder overton, who made a decent impression in his three Tests in Australia and New Zealand in a losing cause — not least in making Smith his first Test victim — without ever confirming he is Test class.

Certainly injuries have left England short of fast-bowling options but there are those in Sussex who could point to an equally tall and bouncy bowler, ollie Robinson, as a viable alternative after his 54 Championship wickets in eight games this season.

It is Australia’s pace-bowling strength that should stop England getting giddy and carried away with a performance in Leeds that even Root accepted was full of mistakes before Stokes rode to the rescue.

While England have plumped for overton, an 80mph bowler, to back up Archer and the rejuvenated Stuart Broad, Australia are set to recall a considerably faster and more menacing one in the form of Mitchell Starc.

If Starc fires alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood while Archer and Broad continue to excel then, if the weather holds, this could be a low-scoring, threeday shootout even on a pitch that should reward quality batting.

England requested a pitch here with as little turn as possible, seemingly fearing Nathan Lyon as much as the Australia fast men, but whether their wish will be granted remains unclear because the surface will start dry.

What is in England’s favour is that the pressure on Australia captain Tim Paine is now at its most intense, as it has become clearer throughout the series that he does not merit his place as a batsman, wicketkeeper or leader.

What England must do to ram home their advantage is take advantage of the passenger in the opposition ranks that Paine represents, Lyon’s choke in fumbling the run out that would have given Australia the Ashes in Leeds and the world-class batting and bowling of Stokes and Archer in this series.

Equally, they could easily be bowled out for double figures again and the whole cricketing bubble could burst in anticlimax.

For the sake of a game that has reached new heights in white-ball and red-ball cricket this summer, despite the best efforts of the ECB to undermine it with the introduction of their gimmicky new format the Hundred, England simply must deliver again here.