Ricky Ponting said: "I think the England middle order has a different feeling about it at the moment with Pietersen not being in the side.
"I was listening a lot to what Ian has had to say in the week about his record against Australia not being as good as every other team he has played against.
"There is a great opportunity for us to get into that middle order a little bit as we were able to do during the first Test in Cardiff.
"The big partnership between Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss at Lord’s made it a bit difficult for us to do that.
"But we are hoping to get the openers out this week and get that middle order out there against a relatively new and shiny hard ball.
"If we are able to do that I think we can do some damage."
Ponting added: "Bell is a good player and he has shown that throughout his career to date but we do feel their batting is slightly weakened with Pietersen not being in their line-up.
"Pietersen is one of the better and more dominant players in world cricket.
"They haven’t got that guy anymore. I do believe England look at him to give them something. We will see over the next five days if anything has changed.
"We’ve known for a week that Kevin wasn’t going to be around and we’ve had a chance to get our plans right for the guys who are playing.
"It is about execution now and we know what we need to do and where we need to bowl and hopefully we can do that for long periods in this game."
He said: "It is okay for Andrew to say that now. I am not sure he was saying it after Cardiff. I think we had it well and truly over most of their batsmen down there.
"As we know, with any sort of aura, or feeling that you get against playing opposition sides, it is something that is built up over a period of time.
"We have got some reasonably fresh faces in our group that are just starting to find their feet at international level, so it is inevitable the aura of a side is going to change but it also changes with performance as well.
"If we happen to come out and play well in this Test, then I am sure they will be thinking differently after this game than they are at the moment.
"It is about having a group of guys who are playing well, who are on top of their game, and are all heading in the same direction. That is how you create aura, with some stand-out performances.
"That is what we will be trying to achieve over the coming weeks."
Ponting added: "Do England have an aura about them? I don’t think it really matters. It is something that is generated over a period of time with some excellent play.
"I don’t see how you can create an aura without winning everything and being on top. It is just impossible to do. England‘s current Test rating would probably indicate they don’t have one."