OLD Trafford groundsman Peter Marron may have had a nightmare build-up to tomorrow's third Test but at least it hasn't been as bad as the last time Australia were here in 1993.

The wettest June since 1879 has caused headaches for groundsmen from Worcester to Wimbledon - even the hallowed Centre Court has suffered - but Marron is still confident of producing a good-standard Test pitch.

"The ground and the pitch itself were so wet that I even wondered whether the Test would be able to start on time.

"But, over the past weekend, I have at least had the chance to do some work on the ground because we had a five-day stretch where it only rained for some of the time!

"The pitch has dried out a lot in the last few days and the surface is quite firm. Considering the weather, I think it is as good as we could have hoped for." David Graveney, England's chairman of selectors, visited Manchester last Thursday to monitor the situation and said : "It certainly is a lot drier now - and it has seemed to dry out naturally.

"We decided to release Phil Tufnell from the squad because we do not think we will be needing two spinners, but we are keeping the remaining 13 together and we shall only know what our best attack is when we see how the pitch looks tomorrow."

Kent's Dean Headley seems the favourite for the third pace bowling role, with Devon Malcolm's raw pace unlikely to be the right ingredient for the prevailing conditions and Gloucestershire left-armer Mike Smith only certain of a Test debut if the pitch is slow.

Mark Ealham, the Kent all-rounder, is certain to be retained as No 7 batsmen and fourth seamer - with Robert Croft there to spin it if needed.

England's management will no doubt remember that, in 1993, the moisture in the pitch served spinners well with Essex off-spinner Peter Such taking six for 67 in Australia's first innings, and then Shane Warne causing havoc in English ranks later on.

But, this time, Marron seems to have ensured that seam, and not spin, will be the key to victory and for Headley, in particular, that would ensure a place in the history books.

Never before have three generations of the same family played Test cricket, but today 27-year old Dean is on the verge of joining his famous grandfather George Headley and father Ron in the lists of those who have played at the highest level.

With three one-day international caps behind him, plus two outstanding England A tours, Headley knows it is now or never for him to prove his ability at Test level and to show that back and hip complaints are not going to hamper his progress any further.

England coach David Lloyd said: "He has good pace and he is a good athlete. Dean's a probing sort of bowler, but he hits the gloves too. As far as we're concerned, his injury concerns are behind him."

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