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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>I won't bowl but bat at number three: Flintoff 14th Oct 2006 22.19 IST By Agencies Big-hitting England captain Andrew Flintoff today set the alarm bells ringing in the Indian camp by declaring that he would bat at number three in the Champions Trophy one-dayer in Jaipur on Sunday. The dashing all-rounder is a regular in the middle order but his decision to bat up may have stemmed from the need to unsettle the Indian bowlers early on in the day-night game tomorrow.
England coach Duncan Fletcher has expressed reservations over Flintoff and the big hitting Kevin Pietersen going up the order. And Indian skipper Rahul Dravid tried not to sound bothered by Flintoff's promotion. "Flintoff could provide some exciting possibilities up the order, but we could also get him out early and put some pressure on the (England) middle order. We are quite prepared," Dravid said. But the man at the centre of debate himself sounded confident about the middle order holding itself in his absence. "We have the batting strength. With the all-rounders (Jamie Dalrymple and Michael Yardy) coming in, the middle overs can be better used. It is an opportunity for me to step up at no. 3," he said. Flintoff also reiterated that he would not bowl on Sunday. "No. I am bowling in the nets at 75 percent and I want to keep building. It is something I don't want to push on a daily or weekly basis," said Flintoff, who is returning to action after a three-month gap following an ankle operation. "When the ankle is alright, I will bowl." Flintoff said his team had its own plans to stop Sachin Tendulkar who has been in rousing form since his comeback from an eight-month injury lay-off. "Obviously Sachin is a fine player, one of the best ever. He is an integral part of the Indian team but they also have other top class players. We have some knowledge of his batting, we will be trying to stop him," he said. He said one of the lessons the team learnt from the visit to India early this year was to not let the rival off hook. "Last tour, in the first game at Delhi, we got into a position of strength, we didn't force it in. When you stand on top, you stay on top. But we didn't do it," he said. Flintoff said the squad to play in this Champions Trophy was better than the one that reached the final in 2004. "If you look at the side now, it is more flexible and different permutations can be worked out. We have a couple of good all-rounders in Michael Yardy and Jamie Dalrymple. " Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell are in fine form. We reached the final last time and we want to go one better now. "We have shown that we can beat anyone in the world. The one thing that we have to do is to strive for consistency. That can be gained by playing against the stronger teams and through more experience," he said. Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: England | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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