Return of Flintoff and Bopara can avert whitewash

England will begin on Tuesday the longest one-day series to be played in this country. By the time the seventh match against India is played at Lord's on 8 September, all concerned will have had enough. One-day was never meant to be every day.

If that is the concluding fixture, it is unlikely to be the deciding one. India will expect to win the series by match five and perhaps as early as match four. Anything closer than a scoreline of 2-5 could be considered progress for the home side.

Related articles

• Prince of Bengal revels in being a right royal pain for England
• Search the news archive for more stories

England remain moderate in limited-overs, and equally both their philosophy and strategy remain mysteries to many observers. It is a long way to the 2011 World Cup, and England will need every match and every minute. India, similarly hopeless in the recent World Cup, are no great shakes either, but an ageing team contain enough flair and nous to win comfortably.

There was no realistic alternative candidate to Paul Collingwood for the English captaincy once Kevin Pietersen declined to be considered, but he is an apprentice. Collingwood is among the worthiest England players of the past 20 years but nothing he did earlier in the summer in losing against WestIndies suggested that as leader he was to the manor born.

Thankfully, England have returning to their squad Andrew Flintoff and Ravi Bopara. Flintoff has played 120 one-day matches for England. Bopara, similarly wholehearted, should do.

Flintoff is bound to be match rusty but his bowling should lend control at last. In general, the attack, unusually, looks as if it might possess some uniform authority. Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Tremlett have been the revelations of the summer, and between them, Flintoff and James Anderson, India may not haveit all their own way. It will be intriguing to see if Monty Panesar can be a threat. Probably not.

Of course, England have had their one-day moments. Who can forget the hoo-ha that accompanied their improbable victory in Australia last February and the ludicrously artificial aspirations it provoked for the World Cup that followed? Of the 11 heroes who put it over the Aussies that night in Melbourne, seven have been discarded.

Thus the batting is the work in progress it has been for around a decade. Presumably, England will continue with Alastair Cook and Matthew Prior as openers, though no matter how hard you try it is impossible to imagine them walking out together in the 2011 World Cup final. Poor Prior has had a rough time, and if his wicket-keeping shortcomings will not be so obvious in one-day cricket, seven games are sufficient to expose that he has copyrighted a pair of cymbals as gauntlets. He will need at least two fifties.

The bulk of the runs will as usual emanate from Kevin Pietersen. During last winter's Ashes he used his status to demand that he bat at No 4. It is about time he decided to move up to No 3 in one-dayers. There he can direct the course of matches.

Collingwood will have to contribute as ever in all three elements, not least because the fielding looks generally pedestrian (on both sides). But it is definitely a case of steadying the ship rather than full steam ahead.

England squad: P D Collingwood (capt), J M Anderson, I R Bell, R S Bopara, S C J Broad,A N Cook, A Flintoff, A D Mascarenhas, M SPanesar, K P Pietersen, M J Prior (wkt), O A Shah, R J Sidebottom, C T Tremlett.