BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/4860138.stm
Flintoff aiming for milestone win
One-day international, Faridabad: India v England - Match starts 0430 BST Friday
Andrew Flintoff is hoping to mark his 100th one-day international by leading England to victory over India.
But they go into Friday's game 1-0 down after throwing away the chance of winning the series opener in Delhi with a series of rash strokes.
And the team will be in unfamiliar surroundings after deciding not to have a practice session in Faridabad.
England chose to stay in Delhi rather than face the prospect of a lengthy round trip of five to six hours by bus.
"We gave it a lot of thought - what were the strengths and weaknesses of going down to practice just for two hours?
"The nets are outside the ground so you're not getting a feel of the wicket like some of the grounds where you practice at the side of the wicket.
"We just believe practising here far outweighs the negatives of going all the way out to Faridabad," coach Duncan Fletcher told BBC Sport.
England could give the side beaten in Delhi a chance to redeem themselves, although Matthew Hoggard is eager to play his first one-dayer for more than a year after taking a break following the Test series.
Lancashire paceman Sajid Mahmood is unlikely to be considered as he is still experiencing pain from a finger injury, even though an x-ray has confirmed there is no fracture.
It was the batting, however, which let England down in the first match and they cannot afford a repeat on what is expected to be another slow pitch.
Fletcher dismissed suggestions that Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were guilty of trying to out-do each other in terms of big-hitting.
"From our point of view, they're two really good batters, they've played some very good innings where they've made sure they'd got used to the pace of the wicket and I'm sure they'll do it again.
"Sometimes you make mistakes and you've just got to make sure you don't keep repeating them," said Fletcher.
Flintoff will be only the 11th England player to make 100 one-day appearances, but it is his excellent response to taking over the captaincy mid-tour, which has really impressed Fletcher.
"He's shown a lot of enthusiam, a lot of imagination. There's a lot of pressure on him but he seems to be handling that pressure at the moment, which is a really good sign," Fletcher commented.
There is a ray of hope for England in the fact that India have only won once in five previous games at the Nahar Singh Stadium, failing to defend a score of 274-6 against Zimbabwe in their last appearance there four years ago.
The home side will make a late decision on the fitness of all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who is suffering from flu.
"We have rested him as a precaution. Hopefully, he will be fit to play," said captain Rahul Dravid.
If Pathan is ruled out, paceman Munaf Patel could make his one-day debut, or they could turn to Ramesh Powar, an off-spinner and useful batsman.
Opener Virender Sehwag will definitely play even though he is still receiving treatment for a back problem.
India (from): RS Dravid (captain), V Sehwag, G Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, M Kaif, SK Raina, MS Dhoni, IK Pathan, YV Rao, MM Patel, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, RR Powar, RP Singh.
England (from): A Flintoff (captain), K Ali, JM Anderson, GJ Batty, IR Bell, ID Blackwell, PD Collingwood, MJ Hoggard, GO Jones, SI Mahmood, KP Pietersen, LE Plunkett, MJ Prior, OA Shah, VS Solanki, AJ Strauss.
Umpires: A Jayaprakash (India) & Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
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I really hope England bat first. I feel with our batting line up right now it's better getting the runs on the board than the pressure of having to chase them down. Will be a good game though.
Flintoff aiming for milestone win
One-day international, Faridabad: India v England - Match starts 0430 BST Friday
Andrew Flintoff is hoping to mark his 100th one-day international by leading England to victory over India.
But they go into Friday's game 1-0 down after throwing away the chance of winning the series opener in Delhi with a series of rash strokes.
And the team will be in unfamiliar surroundings after deciding not to have a practice session in Faridabad.
England chose to stay in Delhi rather than face the prospect of a lengthy round trip of five to six hours by bus.
"We gave it a lot of thought - what were the strengths and weaknesses of going down to practice just for two hours?
"The nets are outside the ground so you're not getting a feel of the wicket like some of the grounds where you practice at the side of the wicket.
"We just believe practising here far outweighs the negatives of going all the way out to Faridabad," coach Duncan Fletcher told BBC Sport.
England could give the side beaten in Delhi a chance to redeem themselves, although Matthew Hoggard is eager to play his first one-dayer for more than a year after taking a break following the Test series.
Lancashire paceman Sajid Mahmood is unlikely to be considered as he is still experiencing pain from a finger injury, even though an x-ray has confirmed there is no fracture.
It was the batting, however, which let England down in the first match and they cannot afford a repeat on what is expected to be another slow pitch.
Fletcher dismissed suggestions that Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen were guilty of trying to out-do each other in terms of big-hitting.
"From our point of view, they're two really good batters, they've played some very good innings where they've made sure they'd got used to the pace of the wicket and I'm sure they'll do it again.
"Sometimes you make mistakes and you've just got to make sure you don't keep repeating them," said Fletcher.
Flintoff will be only the 11th England player to make 100 one-day appearances, but it is his excellent response to taking over the captaincy mid-tour, which has really impressed Fletcher.
"He's shown a lot of enthusiam, a lot of imagination. There's a lot of pressure on him but he seems to be handling that pressure at the moment, which is a really good sign," Fletcher commented.
There is a ray of hope for England in the fact that India have only won once in five previous games at the Nahar Singh Stadium, failing to defend a score of 274-6 against Zimbabwe in their last appearance there four years ago.
The home side will make a late decision on the fitness of all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who is suffering from flu.
"We have rested him as a precaution. Hopefully, he will be fit to play," said captain Rahul Dravid.
If Pathan is ruled out, paceman Munaf Patel could make his one-day debut, or they could turn to Ramesh Powar, an off-spinner and useful batsman.
Opener Virender Sehwag will definitely play even though he is still receiving treatment for a back problem.
India (from): RS Dravid (captain), V Sehwag, G Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, M Kaif, SK Raina, MS Dhoni, IK Pathan, YV Rao, MM Patel, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, RR Powar, RP Singh.
England (from): A Flintoff (captain), K Ali, JM Anderson, GJ Batty, IR Bell, ID Blackwell, PD Collingwood, MJ Hoggard, GO Jones, SI Mahmood, KP Pietersen, LE Plunkett, MJ Prior, OA Shah, VS Solanki, AJ Strauss.
Umpires: A Jayaprakash (India) & Asad Rauf (Pakistan)
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I really hope England bat first. I feel with our batting line up right now it's better getting the runs on the board than the pressure of having to chase them down. Will be a good game though.
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I doubt he will be that, but Id like to see him play
umpire made a complete meal out of it , my first first impressions were spot on, shame shame umpire............
