Cricket: Lancashire 196; Worcestershire 59-1

Andrew Flintoff's return to first-class cricket yesterday after an absence of three months lasted precisely eight minutes and five deliveries. He played two balls and left another two. Then he received a decent delivery from Kabir Ali which bounced and left him and, with his feet tethered to the ground, his attempted check drive sent the ball skimming to Graeme Hick at second slip.

It was a poor shot, especially so early in his innings; he had failed to score in his first championship innings for Lancashire since June 2003. It was not meant to be Flintoff's day.

New Road, Worcester, the traditional harbinger of Ashes battles, where Don Bradman used to flex his considerable muscles in the opening tour match, died a little. But English cricket does anticlimax pretty well these days.

Kevin Pietersen had made a second-ball duck on his championship debut last week. And yesterday there was further bad news for the England selectors, with Marcus Trescothick out for four and Andrew Strauss for 13.

But it was to Flintoff that the pilgrims flocked. The England coach Duncan Fletcher was here yesterday. So was the chairman of selectors David Graveney and the bowling coach Troy Cooley. Graveney had an ice cream to cheer himself up but hardly to cool himself down in the damp and chilly sunshine.

Flintoff's Ankle may soon be rubbing painfully against Compton's Knee, Cooper's Eyebrows and Beckham's Metatarsal as one of the nation's great sporting injury concerns. Even with the first Test against Australia three months away it is the subject of national debate.

The England all-rounder had last played a first-class innings in the Centurion Test at the end of January. He had the operation to remove the troublesome bone spur on his left foot 89 days ago. Since then he has been running through the hills and woods of Rivington Pike, near Bolton, working in the swimming pool and gym and playing racketball.

He played his first innings on Sunday, when he scored 17 from 23 balls in a Totesport League match at Lord's. He said last night: "The ankle feels fine. And I feel good in practice. I was just a little eager today and went after one I should have left alone.

"Form is just as important as fitness at this stage because I'm trying to help win cricket matches for Lancashire. I've been desperate to get some cricket played because I've been training for the past 10 weeks. I don't know when I'll be bowling yet because everything is very much day to day. But I've been bowling in the nets for 20 minutes at a time at about 50-60%. Everything I've done so far I've responded well to, so it seems encouraging."

This was a wretched day for not only Flintoff but Lancashire. Put in, they were dismissed for 196 in 65 overs. It might have been much worse; they were 130 for eight before their former captain Warren Hegg and James Anderson added 66 in 12 overs.

There were three wickets each for Chaminda Vaas, Kabir Ali and Matt Mason. Kabir, though the most expensive, was the pick of them, for he bowled wicket-taking deliveries and plucked the heart out of Lancashire's batting.

Worcestershire scored 59 for one by the close. Hick, dropped at third slip off Dominic Cork when 15, is 32 not out.

In late afternoon the famous Worcester tea ladies found some excellent early-season form; but by then the selectors had departed.