BBC weatherman John Kettley said: "It's looking a little bit mixed -- enough to suit England and not Australia.

"It will be a cool five days with rain interruptions -- a far cry from Perth or Sydney. They've had the warm sunshine."

The more rain interruptions the better for England, as it would deprive Australia's bowlers vital time to dismiss Michael Vaughan's men twice in the five days.

However, the umpires will have the opportunity of extending play by an hour on any day to make up for lost time in previous sessions.

The only Test drawn so far, at Old Trafford in Manchester, lost most of the third day to rain.

However, the three games that led to positive results all finished with more than a day to spare.

Kettley, a keen follower of cricket, added: "It's not going to be dry or hot enough to suit the spin of Shane Warne and the wicket might not be green enough for the seam of Glenn McGrath.

"And the rain interruptions will come throughout the match -- there won't be a full five days."

But the BBC weatherman also dismissed the most pessimistic (or optimistic) reports that Atlantic storms would herald five days of rain.

"Hurricane Katrina is currently blowing itself out over New England. It will give up some rain in the Atlantic flow giving a fairly breezy and autumnal feel," he said.

"The breeze won't really suit the bowlers, and it will be about 18 degrees throughout."

The Oval is historically one of Australia's least successful grounds, and in recent times England have pulled off plenty of good results in south London.