England will be told to forget about the euphoria of Edgbaston and start again from scratch in the crunch third Test against Australia.

Emotionally drained following the dramatic scenes of Sunday lunchtime, when England edged a two-run triumph to level the series at 1-1, they will enter today's next Test at Old Trafford as marginal favourites.

Roared on by a patriotic, sell-out crowd eager to see local hero Andrew Flintoff mark his 50th Test with another eye-catching display on his home ground, England are aware expectations have been raised by their heroics in Birmingham.

But captain Michael Vaughan will urge his team to try to put the drama of Edgbaston behind them and concentrate on the challenge ahead of them as they attempt to claim their first victory in an Old Trafford Test since Ian Botham's heroics in 1981.

"I always think momentum is great but it can also be difficult to deal with," stressed Vaughan.

"Everyone said Australia had the momentum going into Edgbaston but we started the game fantastically well and dominated the first three days - it was only really that last morning when they came back into the game.

"Everyone will now be saying we've got the momentum going into the Old Trafford game but you really do have to wipe the slate clean and make sure we go into this game fresh and try to start as well as we did at Edgbaston.

"Hopefully by tomorrow night we'll be on top of Australia because I really do believe that the first day sets the tone and puts the pressure on for the rest of the game so the first day is always important."

Winning the toss on a wicket both sides expect to favour the side which bats first could also prove crucial to getting off to a good start for an England side who have captured the public's sporting attention since Edgbaston.

But for Vaughan the key will be to ensure his side do not get caught up in the euphoria and rather than try to lift his side with Churchillian speeches, he will stress the need to stay calm and controlled in their performance.

"I won't be trying to complicate things because if you start talking about how important a game is, you start to confuse the situation," explained Vaughan. "You just have to go out and play the situation you're put in.

"Whether we're batting or bowling first we should go out and enjoy the day, play in a positive manner and see where we end up - that's all we tried to do at Edgbaston.

"We tried to play in a manner which was instinctive - a young side trying to play with instinct is always better than team's trying to play under pressure."

Flintoff will no doubt be given a rousing reception for his home Test and will be presented with a commemorative cap to mark his landmark appearance prior to the start as he attempts to take his form from Edgbaston to Old Trafford in front of family and friends.

While Vaughan was delighted with Flintoff's all-round man-of-the-match display in Birmingham, he is also all too aware of the dangers of being too reliant on one player and expects other members of the team to contribute if they are to claim back-to-back Ashes victories for the first time since the final two Tests of 1985 and the start of the 1986-7 series.

"That's one of the nice things about this team," said Vaughan. "Freddie was the match-winner at Edgbaston but there are a number of players in this team who could be the match-winners this week.

"That's a good sign for the English cricket team that we've got a number of players who are capable of winning a game for England."

One of the players Vaughan may have been thinking of in making that statement was Kevin Pietersen, who attended nets at Old Trafford with a blue streak through the middle of his hair. He will attempt to turn his three half-centuries in his first four Test innings into bigger scores.

England delayed naming their line-up until they have consulted Flintoff's local knowledge on the wicket at Old Trafford, which is expected to favour tall, quick bowlers during the early stages and could lead to Hampshire seamer Chris Tremlett making his Test debut as a replacement for the disappointing Matthew Hoggard.

Paceman Simon Jones believes England have earned a new respect from Australia after holding their nerve to claim their dramatic victory at Edgbaston.

"I would like to think they would respect us anyway, even before we won at Edgbaston, because our record over the last couple of years speaks for itself," said Glamorgan seamer Jones.

"We are number two in the world and they are number one and the only way we can go top is beating them.

"I think we have gone up in their estimations after the last game - they have seen a different England side to the ones they have played in the past.

"It's a young, confident side who are hungry for more success and that is important.

"It's hard to keep producing those performances but they have to keep doing it as well and it could come down to whichever team wants it most.

"We have three games left in the series and we have put ourselves in with a great chance of winning the series.

If we had gone 2-0 down it would have been very difficult for us.

"To have won three on the bounce would have been a hell of an effort, but to win that last game at Edgbaston was special and the boys are really up for it now."