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Just how much do England miss the big man?

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Morgan in the driving seat - Alister Morgan considers just how good Andrew Flintoff is and whether England can compete against Sri Lanka without him

England continues their dismal form this week losing the opening One Day international against Sri Lanka by 119 runs. Suddenly England odds (8) to win the series look unlikely to pay any dividend as Sri Lanka (1.14) looks completely untroubled by the misfiring tourists.

Back home in Old Blighty the process of self-flagellation at the ECB continues. England has proved that they can lose with inept efficiency on any continent and at any form of 1st class cricket. Worst still, the 'chosen one' Freddie Flintoff, the man earmarked as the lion-hearted protector of the faith seems to be diminishing faster than an England top order.

Less than two years ago, in 2005, he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year - the first cricketer to win the award for 24 years. Fast forward to Sri Lanka 2007 and the England all-rounder is nowhere to be seen. This time it's his injured ankle that has kept him out of the action but his performances since the historic Ashes victory have been fitful at best.

To be fair to Flintoff, the pressure on him to play when injured is unlike any other player in the England set up and totally counter productive. Until the arrival of Pietersen, Flintoff was arguably England's most potent weapon with either bat or ball but his off-field behaviour, coupled by a poor World Cup performance in the West Indies, seems to have tainted his stock with the press and the blazers at the MCC.

Will he ever recapture the swagger we saw two years ago or is it too late to wrestle the mantle of 'England's greatest all-rounder' from Ian Botham? It can be argued that Flintoff doesn't have the tactical awareness to take over from Michael Vaughan as captain but the statistics show that he remains one of England's finest players averaging 32 with the bat and ball at Test level. He's a real rarity - an English cricketer who would make an International XI.

For ODI internationals Flintoff's impact as a bowler can not be underestimated and his average of 25 at this level is simply fantastic putting him at number ten (the highest place Englishman) in the ICC rankings of ODI bowlers.

Compare his 25 average to other England bowlers (Ryan Sidebottom 32, Stuart Broad 35 and Matthew Hoggard 36) and you begin to appreciate that Flintoff's main contribution to future England campaigns should be with the ball.

He's a world class player who knows how to win matches and that's why recent mediocre performances disappoint so many... nevertheless England will struggle to perform consistently without him. The good news is that at 29, Flintoff can still make a telling contribution for England but he needs the time and space to get genuinely fit.

Without Flintoff the spotlight in Sri Lanka will fall on Pietersen... he will not mind in the least as a player who never lacks self-believe. Pietersen scored a solitary run in England's first defeat but with an average of 50 you have to assume that he'll make his mark on the scorers in the near future.

Pietersen is (3.5) to score 50 in the 2nd ODI ahead of Cook (4), Mustard (6) and Bell (4) but if you feel that his poor run in Sri Lanka will continue then Paul Collingwood (5) looks tempting. England is struggling once again so a redoubtable innings from Captain Marvel appears on the cards to my mind.

While I fully expect an improved batting performance on Thursday, I don't expect England to win so I wouldn't back them, even at (3.1). England, largely inexperienced and untested, probably has to endure a little more pain before turning the corner. The good news is that Flintoff's enforced rest should bear fruit in 2008 for English cricket.

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