England ponder Flintoff as opener

England's big guns Flintoff and Pietersen at a Delhi nets session

Chairman of selectors David Graveney says England could use either Andrew Flintoff or Kevin Pietersen to open the batting in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Graveney said: "Attacking the first 10 overs of the powerplay is going to be a critical part of the game."

He said the absence of both Marcus Trescothick and Michael Vaughan in India might create an opportunity to give Andrew Strauss a new partner.

England's first match is against the hosts on Sunday in Mohali.

Led by Strauss and with Flintoff out injured, England found batting aggressively in the first part of the innings difficult against Sri Lanka when losing the midsummer series 5-0.

Flintoff is now back in the side as captain, and Graveney said: "There's no doubt Sri Lanka attack those first 15 or 20 overs and I'm sure it is an area we need to look at.

"It is not necessarily about 'Freddie' personally, it is about how we are going to attack the powerplay.

"People outside the team have talked about KP (Pietersen) moving up the order.

"Without Tres and Vaughny, we're obviously minus two people who would be leading candidates to go in at the beginning of the order."

Strauss, meanwhile, has called on the other senior players to take some of the pressure off Flintoff when he does resume bowling.

"Bowling as captain is very tough because you have got to concentrate very hard on what you are doing with the ball.

"It is very hard to concentrate on both the field placements and how long to bowl a spell," said Strauss.

"Batting generally is quite clear, you are either ahead in the game or behind and you bat accordingly."

But he added: "Fred has a great ability to lead from the front.

"He can grab a match by the scruff of the neck, whether with the bat or ball, and now as captain."