Flintoff hit by fresh ankle worry

Headingley, 2 September 2007

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NatWest series, Headingley: England v India
match starts 1015 BST Sunday

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is doubtful for Sunday's game against India after fresh problems with his troublesome left ankle.

Flintoff, who has had three operations on the ankle in the past, complained of soreness to the team's medical staff.

"It's a little bit worrying and we'll know more in the next few hours," said captain Paul Collingwood.

England lead the series 3-1 and will wrap up overall victory with two games to spare if they win at Headingley.

Interview: England one-day captain Paul Collingwood

And although confidence is high following Thursday's three-wicket win at Old Trafford, their task will be much harder without Flintoff.

He bowled a full complement of 10 overs in that game, taking 1-31, after having to miss thee previous match at Edgbaston because of a knee problem.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said: "Andrew suffered a reaction following Thursday's match and has undergone scans on the ankle which require further review.

"The ankle discomfort Andrew is experiencing is in no way related to the knee injury he sustained earlier in the series.

"Ongoing assessment and investigation into the injury will be carried out and a decision on Andrew's availability for Sunday's match will be made following further assessment."

If Flintoff is ruled out, Hampshire paceman Chris Tremlett is the most likely replacement, although Jon Lewis is also in the squad and hoping for an opportunity.

The tourists had a great chance to level the series at Old Trafford after reducing England to 114-7, but then let their opponents off the hook as Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad shared a match-winning partnership of 99.

"I've never really been in a run-chase situation like that with Essex, but I have with England in the World Cup [against Sri Lanka] and I used that," said Bopara.

"I didn't want to go through the disappointment of not finishing it off this time - you learn from your mistakes and I didn't want to fall short again.

"All you need to think about in that situation is let's get 10 more runs, and when you get that 10, you just have to get 10 more."

Bopara believes England must be "ruthless" at Headingley and cannot afford to let their guard down against an undoubtedly talented Indian team.

The Yorkshire ground has been a lucky one for India in the past with three wins in four previous meetings, but it was England who came out on top the last time in 1996 after dismissing the tourists for just 158.

Sachin Tendulkar failed in that match, but has two half centuries in the current series and remains the most prized wicket for England's bowlers.

His opening partnership with Sourav Ganguly has failed to sparkle so far, managing stands of 17, 35 and 15, but India are likely to keep them together.

"You want your best players facing the most number of balls and they've been the most successful opening pair for us all these years.

"They've had a lot of success and when we've tried to move them around it probably hasn't worked as well," said skipper Rahul Dravid.

India may be tempted, however, to give either Robin Uthappa or Rohit Sharma a chance, with Dinesh Karthik the players perhaps most at risk after only 49 runs in the four games so far.

Munaf Patel is likely to come into the bowling attack if Zaheer fails to recover in time.

Source: BBC Sport