England (And Flintoff) Hopeful
England arrived in South Africa on Monday for the second part of their limited overs quest encompassing three competitions on three continents in the space of two months with the squad looking to win their first global one-day trophy.
Captain Paul Collingwood is hopeful that his combination of recognised England players and those who have excelled in Twenty20 competition at a domestic level can go further than any England side have gone before.
'It would be very special to win here,' said Collingwood. 'A lot of people have talked down Twenty20 but to us whenever we pull on an England shirt it's an important occassion. It's only been a couple of days since we won at Lord's but I think the quick turnaround could work in our favour. We're buzzing and were match fit.'
South Africa kicked off the tournament in Johannesburg on Tuesday against the West Indies with a nine wicket win. England, placed in group B, will face Zimbabwe on Thursday and Australia on Friday.
Australia will start as favourites, in spite of being thrashed by South African in a practice game and not playing a competitive international since the World Cup.
England will be hoping that Flintoff stays fit, the state of his troublesome left ankle will be assessed daily. He arrived in South Africa with England, unsure if he will be fit to face Zimbabwe at Newlands tomorrow. He is hopeful that the steroid injection he had last week to ease the swelling will be an effective cure.
'Lots of things are being talked about, like tinkering with my bowling action, but I find that difficult to do while I'm playing,' said Flintoff. 'I can do it in the nets and warm-up but as soon as I go into a match and a pressure situation I go back to what I know best.
'I'm never happy to have an injection. Nobody likes having needles shoved into them but this latest one was not to patch me up or mask it. It was a treatment and one that did not go into the joint and won't cause any long-term damage. Fingers crossed it will settle down and be fine.'