Back pages of the nationals - August 21

Top sport stories from the national newspapers:

DAILY MIRROR: Freddie Flintoff turned up for his last stand with the wrong script as England faltered on their Ashes mission. Also: Harry Redknapp is making a new £2million bid to bring his old pal David James to high-flying Tottenham.

THE SUN: Ashley Cole has signed a new four-year contract to make him the world’s highest paid full-back. Also: Usain Bolt won world 200m gold in a record 19.19sec last night – and then joked he wanted a knighthood.

DAILY STAR: Ian Bell last night held his hands up and admitted: ’We should have done better’ – after another big match let-down by England’s batsmen. Also: Frank Lampard last night taunted Manchester United by reminding them just how much they are missing Cristiano Ronaldo.

THE GUARDIAN: Australia had the better of the first day of this final Test. Unable, once the ball had gone soft, to extract real life from a pitch that is less solid than it might at first appear, they sat back during the afternoon, applied a tourniquet of disciplined length and line bowling to well-set fields, and throttled England’s progress.

THE TIMES: England failed to make the most of a golden opportunity to take command of the final npower Ashes Test at the Brit Oval yesterday. Also: Frank Lampard has predicted that Manchester United will find it difficult to replace Cristiano Ronaldo this season.

DAILY TELEGRAPH: Andrew Flintoff will undergo major reconstructive surgery on his knee immediately after the Oval Test which could force him out of cricket until next summer. Also: Britain’s hopes of a third gold medal at the World Championships were dealt a blow yesterday when Paula Radcliffe announced her withdrawal from Sunday’s marathon.

THE INDEPENDENT: Andrew Strauss promised that the mistakes of Headingley would not be repeated. But while England’s batsmen made life harder for Australia’s bowlers at The Oval yesterday, they still have no more than their fingertips on the Ashes urn. But at least that is a start.

DAILY EXPRESS: Ian Bell believes England are in the box seat as they chase the win that will regain the Ashes. Also: Supersonic Usain Bolt is looking for a knighthood from the Queen after smashing yet another world record last night.

DAILY MAIL: Ian Bell last night insisted England still have a fighting chance of winning back the Ashes, despite struggling to build on a strong start on the opening day of the final npower Test. Also: Can you believe it! Four days after Usain Bolt shattered the world 100 metres record, he destroyed his own 200m record last night in the same Olympic stadium by the same margin of 0.11 seconds.