Deep Fine Leg

Everyone knows that Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff are two of England’s most important players. With this in mind, there have been two fantastic pieces of news for England fans as the first Ashes test draws closer.

The first piece of news is about Pietersen’s fitness. In the last few weeks, KP has been struggling with an Achilles injury which forced him out of the World Twenty20 opener against the Netherlands. There has been increasing concern that the injury could get worse at any time, putting his Ashes fitness in doubt.

However, Pietersen has revealed that he has made encouraging progress with the injury in the last few days. He says that he is ‘waking up every morning absolutely fine’ and is able to do training routines ‘pain-free’. Overall, he says that the improvement has been ‘huge’.

As England’s best batsman, Pietersen is set to play a key role in next month’s Ashes series. This makes the news about his fitness all the more encouraging. Hopefully he can have a couple of months to remember.

Now for the other news – Andrew Flintoff’s form. We all know that he can turn it on with the ball for England when called upon. He has often been an inspiration for the rest of the team as he steams into the crease.

However, his batting has left a lot to be desired of late. He hasn’t been able to recapture the form of 2005 with the bat in his hand. Therefore, it was extremely encouraging to see him smash 93 from 41 balls for Lancashire in the Twenty20 cup against Derbyshire.

By no means does this mean that he is back to his absolute best with the bat, but it is an innings that will do his confidence no end of good. Flintoff has lacked belief out in the middle in the last couple of years, so hopefully this innings will be the start of a more positive mindset from England’s premium all-rounder.

To have Freddie scoring runs as well as being his normal self with the ball would be a huge bonus for Andrew Strauss and England. In fact, with regards to Ashes betting, it would probably swing the Ashes series in England’s favour.

Make sure you keep up-to-date with the Ashes odds and check out Betfair’s fan v fan site to get you in the betting mood.

By Thomas Rooney

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