England management plan for allrounder's future

Flintoff to be assessed during Twenty20

Cricinfo staff

September 10, 2007

Andrew Flintoff's bowling will be monitored in South Africa © Getty Images

Peter Moores, the England coach, says Andrew Flintoff's niggling left ankle will be monitored at the ICC World Twenty20 but the fast bowler may have to accept the problem will never be completely fixed. Flintoff played through the pain in England's seven-wicket win over India at Lord's on Saturday and team management will watch him closely in South Africa as they plan for his international future.

Flintoff was not confirmed in the Twenty20 squad until late on Saturday after medical staff had examined his left ankle and found no swelling. "It's a very good sign that the ankle didn't swell up," Moores said. "But it still felt a little bit strange and unstable. So the plan is to take him to the Twenty20 and keep managing him through that.

"The key thing is that we're not doing damage to Fred's ankle. The surgeon and the medical team looked at it and they're quite confident because there's no swelling. We've got to make sure it feels right to play with because for Fred that's quite important."

Moores said the tournament was a good time to see how Flintoff would bowl and also to look at different braces and ankle supports and approaches to find a solution for him. There will also be an attempt to straighten out Flintoff's landing foot in his delivery stride. Moores said Flintoff would need to readjust mentally after undergoing three operations on the troublesome ankle. "It's frustrating for him that he can't just go out and play, and he's coming to terms with that," Moores said. "He just wants to go out and play and bowl at 90mph and bat the way he bats.

"I think realistically he's going to have to work with what he's got. We've just got to manage it. There's no other way around it. We're hoping it gets easier because he gets used to it and the medical team find the right strapping, the right brace, or whatever, to make him able to play." Despite his comeback, doubts remain over Flintoff's availability for England's five-match one-day series in Sri Lanka starting on October 1.

Much will depend on his performance at the ICC World Twenty20 where England are planning a bold approach, according to Flintoff's fast-bowling colleague Stuart Broad. "It is an aggressive focus we have in our minds, we really concentrate on hitting our lengths and lines every time very aggressively," Broad told cricket365.com. "International wickets are flat and are a great challenge for bowlers - but also if you get the ball in the right areas you can cause damage and that is what we are thinking of all the time when we're bowling.

"We are not going there to be hit for six and make the batsmen look good, we will try to disrupt them and get wickets because that is the easiest way of slowing the run rate down. In one-day cricket I have certainly thought in the past 'if I can just get through my ten overs for 40 lovely, it doesn't matter about wickets if I can keep the runs down.' But if you bowl ten overs and take 2 for 40 it is a hell of a lot better."

Meanwhile, Andy Flower, England's batting coach, played down talk of split loyalties when the team faces Zimbabwe in its first game of the tournament. "I don't know too much about the Zimbabwe side as it has moved on so drastically from five years or so ago," Flower told www.cricketbaat.com.

Flower retired from international cricket after the 2003 World Cup, having played 63 Tests and 213 ODIs for Zimbabwe. "It will be a bit strange being in the other dressing room and I wouldn't say that I'm looking forward to the game to be honest, with all the other complications going on with the country," he said. "I'm in the England fold now and very much part of their team, but I'm just looking to win the game and move onto the next one."

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Players/Umpires

Stuart Broad

Andrew Flintoff

Andy Flower

Peter Moores

Series/Tournaments

ICC World Twenty20

Teams

England