Cricket: Flintoff Chips in for Lancashire

Nothing is more guaranteed to make English cricket feel a safer place than a grin on the face of Andrew Flintoff. His appointment yesterday as captain for Thursday's first Test against Sri Lanka was little more than a formality, but the good-natured nonchalance with which he took three cheap wickets in his first game for over a month felt equally pre-ordained.

After a week in which England's injury list began to resemble a medical encyclopedia, Flintoff's opening spell of 6-0-18-3 was just what Duncan Fletcher ordered when he released him for a rare Lancashire appearance. England's desire to protect their biggest asset led Fletcher to voice concerns over the weekend about his quadruple role of captain, strike bowler, No6 and second slip, but the concerns are clearly not shared by Flintoff.

"It felt great today," he said. "People have made a lot of it and call it a burden. But if you get the opportunity to captain your country, it shouldn't be."

In a perfect world Flintoff would have batted, too, but Lancashire cruised home by eight wickets instead, and in any case the England selectors are learning the hard way not to get ahead of themselves.

Flintoff has been recharging his batteries since sitting out the final three one-day internationals in India, and yesterday there was only the slightest hint of rust. He dropped Usman Afzaal in the slips off the third ball of the day but three overs later held on to an offering off Rob White to help Sajid Mahmood celebrate his Test squad call-up.

He was straight into the thick of things with the ball, too. Afzaal wafted fatally at Flintoff's third legitimate delivery, and in his fifth over Flintoff persuaded the left-handed Chris Rogers to chop on. Bilal Shafayat followed one that left him soon after, but the surest indication that Flintoff is in the right frame of mind came after Monty Panesar bunted him back over his head for two. Flintoff's response was a barely suppressed chuckle.

His Lancashire team-mates also spent most of yesterday trying not to laugh following a bizarre decision by the Northamptonshire captain David Sales to bat first in gloom that reduced the match to 45 overs a side. After Flintoff had cut through the top order, Dominic Cork - never one to be knowingly overshadowed - produced a triple-wicket maiden. It needed Lance Klusener to nurse Northants away from humiliation.

The effect was illusory. From 59 for two Lancashire were eased home with 38 balls to spare by Brad Hodge, who flew in from Australia late on Friday, and Stuart Law, the 37-year-old Aussie-turned-Pom. Their unbroken stand of 116 was hardly a fillip for English cricket, but Flintoff's presence was enough to convince that all is well.