Race against time to find the right balance

Andrew Flintoff is the man England are trying to build their one-day team around © Getty Images

Tomorrow, the first one-day international against Pakistan gets underway at the Gadaffi Stadium. That's the simple part. In 15 months' time, the 2007 World Cup begins in the West Indies, and to judge from England's preparedness for their immediate five-match campaign, it is closing in on them sooner than they'd like.

Marcus Trescothick, who will step into the captain's role while Michael Vaughan undergoes knee surgery, remained pretty cagey about tomorrow's line-up, and with some good reason too. Vaughan's absence, coupled with Ashley Giles's hip injury and the general lethargy that has gripped the squad since the Lahore defeat, means that confusion and disinterest are the two key factors in the build-up to the match.

"I think we're pretty close, 99% there," insisted Trescothick when asked about the make-up of his team. "We've watched the guys in the nets to see how they're getting on and tried different people in different positions. It's important to win one-day series away from home, because it's a lot harder away from your own conditions, particularly out here in Pakistan."

England's trump card, for this series and further afield, is their powerhouse middle order, in which Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen have already performed starring roles. With Paul Collingwood uplifted by his efforts in the Tests, and Ian Blackwell back in the reckoning after 18 months in the wilderness, they have a line-up that, on paper, can take on any side in the world.

The bowling attack, by contrast is far less settled. Steve Harmison is emerging, at first-change, as a one-day force to match his potency in Test cricket, but with Darren Gough lost, seemingly for good, to the world of reality TV and Matthew Hoggard jettisoned once again, it is anyone's guess who will be offered the new ball.

Kabir Ali, Liam Plunkett and James Anderson all competed in the warm-up match at Bagh-e-Jinnah, and of those, only Anderson seems sure of a place. He grabbed four wickets in that fixture, including one with the new ball and three in quick succession at a time when Pakistan A were coasting to their eventual one-wicket victory. Given his disappointment at missing out on the Lahore Test, he can expect to be inked in for the series.

His sidekicks are less easy to identify. Kabir was the chosen one last winter, when he overcame his final-over jitters at Bloemfontein to deliver a thrilling tie from a lost cause, but Plunkett has come up the rails on this trip and is currently flavour of the month with the England management. Time is running out for experimentation ahead of the World Cup and so, if England believe that Plunkett is the real deal, then he deserves to be given a run in this series. Apart from anything else, his youthful exuberance could be important in lifting the team from the doldrums.

Blackwell is another interesting case. One of the most powerful hitters in the county game, he resembles his current captain Trescothick in many aspects, and not just those concerning his county of Somerset. He has suffered weight and motivational issues in the past, and England have come close to despairing of him. But now, with Giles missing, he has a golden opportunity to cement a role as a left-arm spinner and brutal lower-order biffer.

Talking of biffing, there are two more aspects of the game that needs to be addressed - the mysterious realms of the Powerplay and the Supersub. Vikram Solanki filled the Supersub role in the NatWest Challenge against Australia last summer, although with Vaughan creating a middle-order vacancy, Matt Prior is the favourite to take over, especially after his 72 in the Bagh-e-Jinnah warm-up.

"Powerplays I think are alright, but Supersubs are a little different," said Trescothick. "They are a little unfair for whoever wins the toss. I'd rather it was just 50 overs of normal cricket, but that's all part and parcel of the game, and just another thing we've got to think about."

If the imminent World Cup was not enough of an incentive to perform, then England have another issue lurking disconcertingly in the background. Defeat in this series may condemn England to pre-qualification for next winter's ICC Champions Trophy, in which only the six top-ranked teams will take part. England currently lie fifth.

"We are aware of the situation," said Trescothick. "We've all checked it out ourselves to see what we've got to do, and we're pretty confident we will do so." Nonetheless, one senses that their preparations - for this series, the next series, and the ultimate series - are not quite as they perhaps could be.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick (capt), 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Vikram Solanki, 4 Kevin Pietersen, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ian Blackwell, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson. Supersub Matt Prior.