'India is a special place for cricket'

Bridgetown: Andrew Flintoff would prefer the second Indian Premier League was staged in India, but given that he could earn half of his fee of £1.05m for a fortnight's work in South Africa, he is not too upset about the relocation.

"I think ideally I'd want to play in India because it's obviously the Indian Premier League," Flintoff said after confirming he would be fit to play for England in the third one-day international on Friday, having recovered from a torn hip muscle.

"You go over to play in front of them crowds and them venues and it's a special place to play cricket, so I'm obviously disappointed I'm not going there, but it's still taking place.

"I'm sure South Africa will put on a great tournament, but I don't think it will be quite the same as if it had been in India."

Now the second IPL is shaping up as a reality for Flintoff, albeit in the southern hemisphere, he can begin to contemplate his new teammates.

The Chennai Super Kings have some big names, not least captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was the IPL's highest paid player until Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen pipped him this time.

If the second IPL had been staged in England, players like Flintoff, Pietersen and Paul Collingwood would have had a huge advantage with their local knowledge - a knowledge which few other cricketers from around the world have aspired to obtain.

"It will be an opportunity to play with the likes of [Chennai team-mates Matthew] Hayden and Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan]," Flintoff admitted. "That's going to be special, but let's get Friday out of the way first and get back on the field, then take all the IPL stuff once this series is over."

The most likely person that Flintoff will replace in the third one-dayer is his mate, Steve Harmison.

England need a third seamer who can bowl during the mayhem that is the third or batting Powerplay, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took 26 runs off a Harmison over during the first match in Guyana, predicting exactly where he would bowl (a length) and at what pace (mid-80s mph). England have yet to get their heads around this third Powerplay of five overs which the batting side selects, when only three players are outside the semi-circles.

The brutal fact is that batsmen who can hit over the top will enjoy them, whereas nudgers and nurdlers who work the ball on the ground are contained more. The West Indies have specialist batsmen who can do both, England's so far have fallen into the second category.

It is possible England will at least consider dropping sole spinner Gareth Batty and replacing him with Flintoff, if not tomorrow then before the series ends.

The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2009