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Reuters 18y

Cricket-Flintoff backs team to square test series in India

By Sanjay Rajan

MUMBAI, March 16 - England stand-in captain
Andrew Flintoff believes his inexperienced team are capable of
upsetting India in the final test and can square the three-test
series.

"I think in the last two test matches we have shown signs
that we could possibly do that," Flintoff told a press
conference on Thursday, two days ahead of the start of the
decider.

"It is a must-win game for us to draw the series. I think
we deserve to do that and we can do that."

England go into the match trailing 1-0, but the tourists,
who are without four key players due to injury or personal
reasons, dominated large parts of the first two tests.

There is also an injury concern over strike bowler Steve
Harmison for the deciding test due to a sore right shin.

"I think for five days we need to get it right, to come
together and show the same enthusiasm and character and the
ability that we have done in patches over the last two tests,"
the captain said.

"We've got new players, inexperienced players. And if we
could beat the Indian team with all their experience and all
their players it would be a monumental effort.

"By the effort we put in so far, I don't think at this
stage we want to be going home losing a test series."

SLOWER GAME

The England skipper also expects the final test to be a war
of attrition.

"I don't think we need to force the game too much. When you
come out to the sub-continent, in Pakistan and at times in
India, it is more of a war of attrition. The game is a lot
slower.

"It is not like in England where the ball is flying
everywhere and you are scoring four to five runs an over. You
have to sit in for longer periods of time, both with bat and
ball, and try and make a result on the last day.

"So I don't think our tactics or game plans will change, I
think we need to do the simple things correctly. We have done
it for periods of time. We just need to extend the time we do
it for.

England lost a test series 2-0 in Pakistan late last year
and are keen to avoid successive test series defeats in the
sub-continent.

"To compete you need a big score in the first innings and
that means a hundred from one of our batsmen. In the last test
we got starts, it will be nice if someone can go on and make a
big 100 and get us past 400," Flintoff added.

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