THE SUN: Alex Ferguson wants David Beckham to step back from the spotlight for his own good.

DAILY STAR: Dennis Bergkamp has accused his Arsenal team-mates of becoming a bunch of quitters.

DAILY EXPRESS: Leeds United's under-achieving players have hit back at calls for Terry Venables to resign and backed their beleaguered manager to transform the club's season into a success.

DAILY MIRROR: Sven-Goran Eriksson's England reign was in further doubt last night when his assistant Tord Grip admitted he could give no guarantees the Swede will still be in the job in a month.

DAILY MAIL: Tord Grip is refusing to rule out the possibility of Sven-Goran Eriksson quitting as England coach.

THE GUARDIAN: A grievous injury to Simon Jones overshadowed what, even by England standards, was a day of ritual humiliation by Australia's centurions Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting as the first Test got under way yesterday.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Blunders from Down Under are not uncommon where England cricket is concerned, but the events that unfolded at the Gabba after Nasser Hussain had put Australia in to bat could end up the most embarrassing of all.

THE TIMES: It all comes down to an obscene four-letter word. England made a hopeless cock-up of the first day of the first match of the Ashes Test series because of one thing.

THE INDEPENDENT: At 9.30am yesterday in Brisbane the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, tossed a coin in the air. His opposite number, Nasser Hussain, called correctly and England decided to bowl first. Little drama so far, although there were a few gasps of "no" from some wily former players now in the commentary box.