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Back Page Betting: Backing favourites South Africa ignores England's test form

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Despite the One Day debacle there are reasons to back England as their best players return for the test series against South Africa.

So Captain KP turned out to be more of a switch off than a switch hitter. And the search is on for another knight in shining armour to come to the rescue of England's cricket team.

But don't for a moment expect that hero to be Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, even though the hero of the 2005 Ashes series is working his way back to fitness. Coach Peter Moores has made it abundantly clear in this morning's papers that the Lancashire all-rounder won't be considered for the First Test against South Africa at Lord's next Thursday.

Flintoff took four wickets in a Twenty20 against Durham on Friday, and then got in his first proper bowl yesterday since suffering the side strain which has kept him out of the season for England so far. And according to the Daily Express's experienced cricket writer Colin Bateman he generated good pace in his 15 overs against Sussex at Hove, even though he failed to take a wicket.

But Moores is determined not to rush him back and risk another break down, and it could be as late as the third Test at Edgbaston at the end of July before Freddie is playing again. Even that is providing all goes to plan.

"Andrew is back on the park and bowling, which is great, but we are also sensible about it because you have to be bowling fit and match fit rather than simply getting the injury right. That's common sense," says Moores.

The gloom and doom about England's summer is not surprising after a dismal performance in the One Day International series finished with a 3-1 defeat (and it would have been 4-1 if it hadn't been for the weather). South Africa are now [2.4] favourites to win the Test series, with England out to [2.9], and it's [4.4] for it to be drawn.

But just because Freddie isn't ready to ride to the rescue, it doesn't mean England don't have other influences to change things round. We're talking Test cricket now, not the one day game. And half the reason England do so badly in the short form of the game is the insistence by the selectors of leaving out their best cricketers to bring in so-called 'One Day players'.

So when the Test stuff starts there will be both Monty Panesar to give the bowling some genuine world class penetration, and Michael Vaughan to provide the genuine captaincy and leadership that's been missing with first Paul Collingwood then Kevin Pietersen in charge. Don't forget that earlier in the summer Vaughan's men won the Test series against the Kiwis, and while they may have dropped to a miserable seventh in the ODI rankings are still third - ahead of South Africa - in the Test table.

And a bit more good news if you fancy backing England for the series - or at the very least laying the South Africans - comes in this morning's Daily Mail from Taunton. They sent number two cricket writer Chris Foy to Taunton to check out their early form, and he says not to be seduced by an impressive first innings total of 455-3. Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla, he says, plundered cheap centuries on an easy wicket against feeble bowling and could go to Lord's under prepared.

Five things you didn't know about Peter Moores

1. He was one of eight children and says the secret of good coaching is to make the team a big happy family

2. As a player he was a wicket keeper, making more than 500 appearances for Sussex

3. His hero was England wicket keeping legend Alan Knott, and he carried Knott's coaching book around with him all though his career

4. When as coach he led Sussex to the county championship title in 2003 it was the first in the county's 164 year history

5. He relaxes by reading biographies of great leaders and has recently finished books about Abraham Lincoln and Ernest Shackleton

• Cricket
• England Cricket