Flintoff to bat at No 3

Their recent one-day form may be depressing to put it mildly, but England will take encouragement from the last Champions Trophy as they take on India in their first outing at this year's event. Having outclassed Sri Lanka, they eased to a comfortable victory over Australia, before the defiance of Ian Bradshaw and Courtney Browne denied them in the gloaming at The Oval. This time, there are no home conditions to take advantage of, but that may not be such a bad thing on the evidence of the 5-0 demolition that Sri Lanka meted out earlier this summer.

As has been the case in recent times, their fortunes will flow and ebb in tune with Andrew Flintoff's performances. At his best, there's no more destructive allrounder in the game, but when he's been off the pace, England have usually done little more than make up the numbers. And with the World Cup also on the horizon, he has now given himself a new challenge, opting to bat at No.3. "I've spoken with the coach and it's something I feel I can do," he said. "I had the chance earlier in my career, but I trust in my technique more now."

Even if he's unlikely to bowl in the tournament, Flintoff remained convinced that England had the bowling firepower to trouble the best. He brushed off suggestions that Steve Harmison lacked the appetite for one-day cricket and was a poor traveller. "Steve Harmison's committed, no matter whether it's one-day cricket or Test cricket," he said. "As soon as he gets out there, you know what you're going to get. I have no worries about big Harmy."

Flintoff though was confident that a side comprising several new faces would be up to the task in a group that also includes Australia, the favourites. "If you look at the side now, it's very flexible," said Flintoff. "Lads like [Michael] Yardy and [Jamie] Dalrymple have come in and performed straight away. [Andrew] Strauss and [Ian] Bell are in fine form. It's a strong side and I'm hoping we'll have success.

"I don't know where we're rated," he continued. "It's a tough group, but also an exciting one to be in." As for India, he indicated that his team wouldn't make the mistake of concentrating on Sachin Tendulkar or other individuals alone. "He's a fine player, one of the best ever," said Flintoff when asked how he aimed to stop Tendulkar's first match on home soil in nearly a year being a triumphant return. "But there are other fine players too. We've had a team meeting and made plans for them."

Yardy and Dalrymple both offered economical slow-bowling options when pitchforked into the big time recently, but England's hopes will float or sink based on how they tackle Harbhajan Singh and the other Indian spinners. "We've practised well since coming here," said Flintoff. "We've had some local spinners bowling, and we're prepared and confident.

"The last time we played here, we were in a position to win the first game in Delhi, but didn't see it home. We've got to learn to stay on top when we're on top, and also to manoeuvre the spinners around and score runs off them."

He reckoned that he has a team that could beat anyone, but admitted that stringing together consistent results had been a problem. And though the Ashes are uppermost on most English minds, Flintoff suggested that his team wouldn't be distracted as they go about trying to end England's terrible drought in the big one-day tournaments. "It would be nice to start off playing well," he said, when asked if Sunday's game might set the tone for the whole winter. "We need to concentrate on what's happening over the next few weeks. We got to the final of the Champions Trophy the last time, and we'd like to win it. But as for the rest of the winter, I wouldn't read too much into it."

England (likely): 1 Andrew Strauss, 2 Ian Bell, 3 Andrew Flintoff (capt), 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Paul Collingwood, 6 Michael Yardy, 7 Jamie Dalrymple, 8 Chris Read (wk), 9 James Anderson, 10 Sajid Mahmood, 11 Steve Harmison.