Flintoff Enjoys Indoor Net and Leaves Six Men Pondering Their Futures

England will make history at the start of their series against South Africa today when they field the same Test side for the sixth successive match, but much of the attention yesterday centered on the man who allows nothing to be taken for granted - Andrew Flintoff.

Flintoff practiced with England in the indoor nets as heavy rain fell yesterday and barring another injury setback in the championship match against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl, beginning tomorrow, his return for next week's second Test at Headingley looks inevitable. The seemingly most secure England side of all time have at least half a dozen players with cause to wonder whether, if things go badly at Lord's, they might be the one to make way next week. This is no time for complacency.

Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, had attempted the first psychological gambit of the four-Test series by suggesting that Flintoff's presence in the background would have an unsettling effect on England, and the greater the debate about how England will reshape their side to accommodate him the happier the South Africans will be.

But England responded to Arthur's mischievous theories by taking Flintoff out of the shadows and plonking him into the Lord's indoor school. Michael Vaughan presented the Lancastrian's presence as inspirational, just the fillip for England as they enter a series which will provide a true guide to their chances of regaining the Ashes from Australia next summer.

"It is international sport. You know there is pressure on and you have to live with that," Vaughan said. "Andrew Flintoff is an exceptional circumstance. We want him back in the England team. He is practising with us just to get his foot in. A few more overs under his belt will do him a world of good. How we get him in the team, the selectors will have to decide."

Vaughan would prefer to have five bowlers. England's most vulnerable batsmen are Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, both woefully out of form against New Zealand this summer, but Flintoff's own batting form does not warrant a place in the top six, so he could return as a package with Matt Prior, leading to the omission of Tim Ambrose as wicketkeeper. But Headingley, of all England's Test grounds, tempts a side to rely on a four-man attack, which might leave Jimmy Anderson or even Stuart Broad vulnerable.

After 19 successive matches against New Zealand, a confrontation with South Africa is overdue. The captains claim they are fit: Vaughan's knee has been lubricated, Graeme Smith's hamstring pummeled. Smith's only grouse is with sections of the English media, who have responded to his new conciliatory manner by reheating his old criticisms of Kevin Pietersen.

"The South Africa series is nearly up there with the Ashes," Vaughan said. "They have had a wonderful year and they are a very special team. But I am quietly confident that the way we swing the ball - and this week the ball should swing - we can put a lot of pressure on them.

"It is a series that I think we can win. They have an abundance of pace but we are on home soil and I think conditions can favour the style of bowlers that we have."

Three Tests, three routs

England v South Africa at Lord's

1994 SA won by 356 runs

Kepler Wessels scored 105 and Allan Donald took five for 74 to establish a huge first-innings lead. Cue the Mike Atherton 'dirt in the pocket' affair

1998 SA won by 10 wickets

England were bowled out for 110 and followed on 250 runs behind the tourists who had recovered from 46 for four to post 360. Nasser Hussain's 105 only postponed the inevitable

2003 SA won by an inns and 92 runs

Ten wickets for Makhaya Ntini and Graeme Smith's 259 mauled England whose only crumb of comfort came from Andrew Flintoff's 142