England gee up Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff could lose his England place

Andrew Flintoff has been given a clear warning that any further lapses of concentration may result in the loss of his England place this summer.

Lancastrian Flintoff has been an England regular under captain Nasser Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher.

But apart from the odd glimpse of explosive batting, his Test career to date has been a great disappointment.

He has failed to reach 20 in seven of his 11 innings since making his debut against South Africa at Trent Bridge two years ago.

And he was annoyingly disappointing against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

He's got to realise that he has be a bit more patient when he plays Test cricket

Duncan Fletcher

In both innings he reached 16 before losing his wicket cheaply.

At 22 he is still young, but the selectors will get impatient if he fails to live up to his great potential.

England coach Duncan Fletcher said: "He's got to be more patient.

"He's an attacking player, but you get to the stage where you are thinking whether you should turn him into a defensive player and destroy this ability he's got or let him carry on as he is doing.

"He's got to realise that he has be a bit more patient when he plays Test cricket. His form is a concern to us but he's a talent, he is young and I think he can develop into a very, very good all-rounder."

Even the one high spot of his brief Test career, the determined 42 he hit in the second Test at Port Elizabeth against South Africa in the winter, was a source of great frustration to England's management.

As Shaun Pollock prepared to take a rest from the attack, Flintoff plundered six boundaries in nine balls he faced from the South African fast bowler.

Consistency

Then, instead of consolidating after that, he attempted another big hit and was bowled.

But despite the obvious flaws in Flintoff's temperament at times, Fletcher will resist any attempt to drop him in the immediate future and believes the only way forward is to have consistency of selection.

"You hear people questioning whether we should be as patient with players and others say we should be more patient," said Fletcher.

"That's the problem with English cricket, they are not particularly patient with players and we have to find some balance somewhere in there."