Absence of Fletcher puts extra burden on Flintoff

Captain steps up as coach tends to ailing wife

Duncan Fletcher's decision to leave temporarily England's tour of India to accom- pany his sick wife while she travels home to South Africa will add one more duty to the ever-growing list of responsibilities currently resting on Andrew Flintoff's shoulders.

Fletcher is scheduled to arrive back in India before tomorrow's third one-day international here, but his absence leaves Flintoff in charge of preparing the team for a game they must win. Fletcher is the sixth member of the touring party to leave India for a variety of reasons, and the defeats in Delhi and Faridabad have left England needing to win four of the remaining five games to win the seven-match series. It is six years since they last achieved this feat against decent opposition.

"Duncan will be touching down in Cape Town, and getting straight back on the next available flight," said James Avery, the England and Wales Cricket Board's media manager. "He will definitely be back in India for the next one-day international." Before departing with Marina, who has been in India with several of the players' wives and girlfriends for the past fortnight, it is hoped Flet-cher suggested to Flintoff that he take the new ball in tomorrow's crucial game.

In an era when 260 is looked upon as being nothing more than a par score, the bowling figures of James Anderson and Kabir Ali do not appear too disastrous. But in two low-scoring matches, when the side batting first has struggled to pass 200, England's opening bowlers have not bowled well enough, conceding almost six an over.

It is too many, especially when one considers that India's batsmen have not had to take any risks in achieving this rate. All they have had to do is wait for a half-volley or a short, wide ball to come along and wallop it for four. In Delhi and Faridabad, India had reached 40 before England, in the form of Flintoff, Liam Plunkett or Ian Blackwell, began to bowl properly, and the 20 extra runs Anderson and Kabir leaked could have been enough to win their side at least one of these games.

The pitches for the remaining games are expected to be friendlier to batsmen, and England cannot afford to give Virender Sehwag too many easy starts, because it is only a matter of time before he capitalises, and that would seal another defeat for the tourists. It therefore makes sense for Flintoff to take the new ball and make life far less comfortable for the Indian openers.

England may well make two changes to the team who lost in Faridabad. Ian Bell, who struck 71 in the warm-up match against a President's XI in Jaipur, should replace Owais Shah.

There is also a case for dropping Kabir, who took four wickets in Delhi but concedes far too many runs. Depending on the state of the pitch, Sajid Mahmood or Gareth Batty could play their first game of the tour.

One player who does not appear to be in the selectors' thoughts is Matthew Hoggard. The selectors' doubts have substance, because Hoggard can swing the new ball but his slingy action makes him hittable.

What is unacceptable, though, is that he is being asked to traipse around India as nothing more than a glorified drinks waiter. Hoggard deserves to be treated better than this.

This is the third time Hoggard has had to cancel a planned family holiday to fill in for an injured player. There are many who will think Hoggard and his wife should know the unpredictable nature of the job by now. He is well paid, he should be proud to be selected for his country and he could always say no.

True, but this is about good management. England showed this with Marcus Trescothick and, if they want to avoid similar problems, should act in a similar way with other players.