Flintoff Back Bowling and Eyeing an England Return

While England have been tinkering their team line-up in searching of a side that can seal a series win in New Zealand, a potentially crucial development has occurred in the obscure Pro Arch Trophy in Abu Dhabi. England's star all rounder, Andrew Flintoff, today had his first competitive bowl since the World Twenty20 Cup.

Flintoff has been easing himself back into cricket after undergoing a major operation on his ankle in October 2007. He has since played several innings as a batsman, including a stint with the England Lions in India, but his bowling spell for Lancashire against Sussex in the Pro Arch Trophy - a one-day competition being used as a season warm-up by several English counties - was his first since England's Twenty20 game against India last September.

He recently said that he'd been "bowling off about two or three paces for four overs" in the nets, but had admitted that "the acid test is when I get back playing properly, probably halfway through the summer to see if stands up to what it needs to". Today marked the first step in that process. In an opening spell of three overs, Flintoff took the wickets of Chris Nash and Ben Brown to return figures of 3-1-7-2.

"I'm hoping to start the season fully fit batting and bowling. I think the first game we've got is at the Oval for Lancashire", Flintoff recently stated. That will be welcome news for England, raising the possibility that they could have him back and fully fit in time for the home series against New Zealand, which begins on May 15.