Given that he appears to be held together by sellotape, cortisone, and the collective prayers of English cricket, there?s every chance that Andrew Flintoff won?t be in England?s starting XI tomorrow, as game four of the Ashes starts at Headingly. Which means in turn that, should England play six batsmen at Leeds, cricket?s answer to the American rugby team will add yet another foreigner to its ranks; more pointedly, another one of ours.

Jonathan Trott?s elevation to the England squad for the fourth Test comes on the back of piles of runs for Warwickshire, his home for the last few years after bidding sunshine goodbye and heading for the County Championship. Trott was a free-scoring batsman in the Cape, with bright prospects, but whether for genuine cricket reasons, or to escape his half-brother Kenny Jackson boring him with stories of Jackson?s own modest first-class career (being cornered by KJ and his Boland reminiscences is a long and torturous misfortune), he upped and offed to England. Come Friday, that decision could have paid off spectacularly.

Becoming the fourth South African to play for England in this series, after Strauss, Prior and Pietersen, is dependent on the talismanic Flintoff being deemed unfit for what would be his penultimate Test, and that is a decision that England will take very reluctantly. The statistics with which Flintoff will end his career are underwhelming, selected highlights bookending long stretches of ordinary achievement. Flintoff more than anyone else has suffered from England?s desperation to provide another Ian Botham; but if the all-rounder will not leave cricket with a consistent record, he will depart as a key architect of 2005?s seminal Ashes triumph. And, quite possibly, the same in 2009.

Australian batsmen have scored far more runs and Australian bowlers taken far more wickets than English counterparts in this series; such are the vagaries of Test cricket, that England are still one-up. The quality of the cricket hasn?t been exceptional, and this isn?t the pinnacle of the modern game as a contest; it has been enthralling, though, with the final session in Cardiff has gripping a piece of cricket as we?ll see this year, and the roar of a breast-beating Flintoff in an absorbing final at Lord?s a statement of intent from an England team that could, under the guidance of Andy Flower and the measured leadership of Strauss, mature into a very complete unit.

It?s a little way off the finished product at the moment, though, and the Flintoff conundrum exacerbates that; working in England?s favour, however, is an unsettled opponent with problems of its own. It might have come off in the end, but there was a hint of panic to the installation of Shane Watson as an opener, and Mitchell Johnson has looked like a left-arm version of Steve Harmison for much of the series. Throw in the batting woes of Mike Hussey, a hesitant shadow of the man who entered international cricket so prolifically, and an English press corps cheerfully getting stuck into Ricky Ponting at every opportunity, and this is an Australian side under pressure.

Holding out for a draw in the third Test will steady Australia, however, and if Brett Lee does return ? and can add something approaching the menace with which he dazzled the IPL earlier in the year ? then England will face a stern challenge. And if Flintoff is ruled out, the dent to morale will be magnified by a fourth estate that worships happily at the altar of Freddie. South Africans have a habit of making an impression for England, however, Robin Smith and Allan Lamb to earlier examples; Pietersen might be out for the final two matches, but a flamboyant South African batsman could yet have significant influence on a fascinating Ashes.

  • The Suncoast Classic kicks off at Durban Country Club today, the Sunshine Tour?s winter swing back after a midyear hiatus. Amongst the field are Anton Haig, winner of last year?s Johnnie Walker Classic, Marc Cayeaux, the big Zimbabwean with the gentlest of touches (and a fourth place in Europe last week), and former champions in Adilson da Silva and Alex Haindl. Da Silva was part of the winning fourball at yesterday?s pro-am, and is one of several players looking in good touch; if you?re in Durban this week, some quality golf is well worth dropping in on.

  • Flying visit to Durban for the golf; with rugby in Cape Town this weekend, no time for an extended golf vacation this week. Tonight Breyton Paulse, Robbie Kempson and myself join four of the Wallabies to see how?re they?re enjoying life in a country with running water and indoor plumbing; Saturday night, Darren Scott and myself host Bok TV live from the SAB field beside the stadium, with everyone welcome to form part of the studio audience. The whole Springbok squad will be in attendance, and hopefully in celebratory mood (although I suspect the Wallabies will be considerably tougher opponents than the woeful All Blacks); join us for a beer on Saturday night if you?re around, or catch Bok TV live on SuperSport One from eight o?clock.

  • Contact Dan at dan@metropolis.co.za.