THURSDAY'S final Test between England and Australia has been billed as the biggest sporting event in this country since the 1966 World Cup final.

The Aussies' stranglehold on the Ashes (or rather, a replica, since the original urn is in the museum at Lord's) goes back nearly two decades - so there's plenty at stake at the Oval over the next five days.

Think it's all over? It will be soon. Don't forget, though, that if the Aussies win, and the series is drawn, they'll retain the trophy. On the up side, if the home team avoid defeat, they'll go down in history.

A staggering eight million-plus, a record audience for Channel 4, watched the thrilling climax to the fourth Test at Trent Bridge, which England won to go two-one up in the five-match series.

The past three matches have all featured nail-biting finishes, with England inching to victory by two runs at Edgbaston, and Australia, inspired by a captain's innings from Ricky Ponting, clinging on for a draw at Old Trafford.

All across the country, armchair sports fans are switching their fickle affections from football to Cricket - although many claim to have hidden behind the aforementioned armchair, or settee, as the tension has mounted.

In fact, "cricket is the new football", according to some in the media (often those who said "rugby is the new football" after Jonny Wilkinson's last-gasp drop-kick clinched the World Cup two years ago).

Clean-cut heroes like all-rounder Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff and fast bowler Stephen Harmison have shunted Wayne Rooney and David Beckham off the back (and often, front) pages - with pundits commenting favourably on the sportsmanship and evident respect between the sides in a hard-fought summer of sensational sport.

At Bournemouth Cricket Club, where the under-15s clinched the national knock-out title under the approving eye of former England captain Nasser Hussain earlier this season, a record 150 children - girls as well as boys - have signed up for the Colts.

Coach Richard Scott - who played professionally, for Hampshire and Gloucestershire between 1983-93, and is now director of cricket and captain at Bournemouth - said the Ashes series had been a key factor in getting youngsters interested in the sport.

"I'm getting more and more interest from schools," he said. "Cricket is really taking off. I was at Hamworthy recently, when there was a volleyball tournament going on, and everything came to a halt while everyone watched the Test."

The Ashes series had been "the icing on the cake", he said. "It's a combination of things. The England side has been doing particularly well for the past couple of seasons, and Twenty20 (an abridged version of the game) has been a big hit with the kids - we took 80 youngsters up to Hampshire and they absolutely loved it.

"When I was young, we had Boycott and Edrich crawling to maybe 200 runs in a day. But now there's someone like Kevin Pietersen smashing it about as if it's a one-day game, and it's much more fun to watch."

Mike Vimpany, Echo cricket writer and a member of the Southern Electric Premier League management committee, reported a big upsurge of interest in the game among local clubs.

"It's great to see, and it makes the efforts of all the adults who work hard behind the scenes worthwhile," he said.

Coaching camps held during the school holidays had been well attended, with youngsters learning from the likes of Peter Smith, Lymington's overseas player - an Australian, from the Balmain club in Sydney.

Mike added: "What's really great is that while once you'd always see kids playing football in the park, now they're out there with bat and ball, all wanting to be like Freddie Flintoff. I'll certainly be spending lots of time in front of the telly over the next few days. And if we get another tight finish, like we've had in the past three matches, I reckon the whole country could grind to a standstill next Monday."

If your school would like to get involved in cricket coaching, or to find out how to contact your nearest club, call Richard Scott on 01202 307630.