Flintoff may be used as pinch-hitter for the 'mini' World Cup

On top: Andrew Flintoff takes a camel ride during England's tour of India last winter
14 April 2012

Andrew Flintoff may be used as a shock weapon as England attempt to defy bookies writing them off as 12-1 long shots for the ICC Champions Trophy, which began yesterday.

The England all-rounder is likely to be a pinch-hitter at the top of the England order as they prepare this week for their opening match in this monthlong and much-maligned 'mini' World Cup in India.

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The plan was discussed by the England captain and management on arrival in Delhi yesterday and is expected to be studied in more detail before a final decision is taken ahead of the start of the opening one-dayer against India at Jaipur next Sunday.

The theory is, the England captain could step out of the shadows he has occupied for most of the summer, suffering with a long-term ankle injury, to open the batting with Andrew Strauss in an effort to inject more testosterone into the start of the innings.

Flintoff's straight-bat technique, forthright attitude, and ability to take advantage of fielding restrictions makes him an ideal candidate for a role made famous by Sanath Jayasuriya for Sri Lanka in their shock 1996 World Cup-winning campaign.

England's theory is that Flintoff could open, with Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood at four and five. The reason for considering Flintofffor a blitzkreig top-order role is that Fletcher is keen to play two spinners in India.

Jamie Dalrymple would bat six, Michael Yardy seven, and Chris Read eight, with Flintoff, who would have occupied one of those all-rounder positions, drafted to the sharp end.

Flintoff was not keen to discuss the batting issue on arrival in Delhi yesterday, but admitted he would chat about his batting position with coach Duncan Fletcher. He said: 'At this moment, I'm not sure about the make-up of the batting. We need to sit down, make our plans, and decide.'

The England captain, in the limelight after 14 weeks on the sidelines, forecast 'tough cricket' in a group involving India and Australia. 'It's a tough group.' he said. 'A chance to play against the best teams in the world, it's a real test.'

A1 fitness

Describing his fitness as A1, he said: 'It's about 10-and-a-half weeks since the operation on my ankle and it has responded well to everything I've asked of it. I've bowled at around 60 per cent at home, and over the next couple of weeks, I'll start stepping it up.'

Flintoffwas uncertain when he would bowl again at full bore, but said: 'I've got the chance to get out in the nets, build up, and start pushing it even more. I'll spend this week knocking the cobwebs off.'

England had learned lessons from the India tour earlier this year, he said. 'When you get on top, you have to force it home and there were a couple of times during the one-day series when we didn't.

'I've enjoyed playing in India with the big crowds - it makes every game a big occasion. Two years ago, England reached the final and were beaten by the West Indies. That hurt. It was a great final to play in, so we want to do it again, hopefully going one step further.'

Flintoff described England as a bright, young side, striving for greater consistency.'We need to string together a lot of victories,' he said. He also claimed that captaincy and extra responsibility helped him raise his game.

He welcomed fit-again Ashley Giles's return to the squad, someone he liked 'as friend and cricketer'.

England coach Fletcher has told the squad to fear nothing and express themselves. 'We need to go in with confidence, enjoy playing cricket and fear no one. With a lot of young players, this is an opportunity to get down to some hard work.'

He described England's tournament match against Australia on October 21 as 'important'. He said: 'We beat Australia in the semi-final of the last ICC Trophy. That was the first time we'd beaten them convincingly, and every time since then we've played well against them.'

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