I Can Be Better Than Ever, Says Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff believes he can become a better player than ever in Test cricket as he prepares to return for England after a lengthy injury lay-off.

After being kept out of the Test side for 18 months by a succession of injuries, Flintoff has been included in Peter Moores' 12-man squad for the second Test against South Africa, which begins at Headingley on Friday. He is expected to be pitched straight back into the team, possibly at the expense of Paul Collingwood.

Flintoff insists he has played enough cricket in the county game since recovering from injury to make an impact for England. "Before the first Test I'd not played a great deal of cricket what with the side strain - I'd just had one game against Sussex," he said. "I got another Championship game against Hampshire last week where I bowled a lot of overs, got some miles in my legs, and I'm hitting them pretty nicely as well - a couple of runs in the Twenty20 and the second innings down at Hampshire.

"I'm in a good place at the moment and ready to go into Test match cricket ... I don't think I'm at my best but I'm going in the right direction and showing signs of that. As for the fitness, I've got no worries."Flintoff insisted that he could eventually become a better player even than he was three years ago, when he inspired England's Ashes win against Australia. "Definitely as a bowler, I've always improved the more I bowl and have a better understanding of it as well," he said."With the bat as well, you see batsmen peak in their early thirties and that's what I'm looking to do as well. I've done all right in the past and I think I can do better."

Flintoff is confident of receiving a good reception at the home of his county's fierce rivals Yorkshire. "As and when I do come on to bowl, I'm sure there might be a little bit of excitement here at Headingley," Flintoff said. "The Lancashire players refer to it fondly as Galatasaray [a reference to the hostile reception Manchester United received at the Turkish club in 1993], but I think in an England shirt it's a different game," he said. "Hopefully the crowd will get behind not just me, but the rest of the team."