England play down the Flintoff factor

England will attempt to keep a lid on the excitement generated by Andrew Flintoff's long-awaited recall by suggesting he is not a certainty to play against South Africa at Headingley on Friday.

But captain Michael Vaughan summed up his sense of anticipation after having to make do without Flintoff for 18 months by saying: "I'm sure teams around the world would rather play us without 'Freddie' in our side."

The decision about whether Flintoff returns at No6 in place of Paul Collingwood or slots in further down the order as one of only four front-line bowlers in the Second Test may be left until Friday morning, allowing Vaughan and coach Peter Moores time to assess pitch and overhead conditions in Leeds.

But it seems inconceivable that the 30-year-old all-rounder will not step forward this week to play his first Test since early January 2007 when England's Ashes whitewash was completed - under his leadership - in Sydney.

"It is the right time to bring him back into the squad," said Moores after South Africa batted out a draw at Lord's. "But it's going to be a very tough decision as to who we go in with because everyone has played very good cricket for the last three or four months.

"We've had the same side for six Tests, we won four out of the first five and then, at Lord's, we dominated. This is a good team and they're playing well.