AUSSIE skipper Ricky Ponting believes his side have seen off Kevin Pietersen and will not have to face him in the opening Ashes Test in a fortnight.
Pietersen was the most blameless of England's top-order batsmen when they crashed to 33-5 in Saturday's NatWest Series final, nibbling at a useful delivery from Brett Lee where others were too gung-ho.
But Ponting thinks England will stick with Ian Bell and Graham Thorpe in the middle-order engine room, saying: "I don't expect to see Pietersen at No.4 in the Test series.
"He surprised us a bit with his innings at Bristol (91 not out off 65 balls), but we haven't seen that much of him since then and I don't think England will pick him for the Test series against us now."
Pietersen has already earned another date with the Aussies after joining England team-mates Steve Harmison and Freddie Flintoff in the Rest Of The World one-day squad for October's inaugural Super Series in Melbourne.
And he will be included this morning in England's NatWest Series Challenge squad, which is likely to feature at least one wild card for the first one-day internationals to include substitutes who can bowl and bat.
Somerset all-rounder Ian Blackwell and Surrey's Rikki Clarke, both discarded last year, are among the candidates to become England's first supersub.
Coach Duncan Fletcher said: "There is a whole lot of new scenarios to take into consideration under the new rules - Michael Vaughan and I have been throwing a few ideas around in the changing room."
- MIKE WALTERS