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Flintoff lights fuse for explosive Ashes summer
By David Lloyd, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 14.06.05The precise margin of victory may be forgotten - eventually. But England must cling to the manner of their stunning success at the Rose Bowl throughout this Ashes summer.
Michael Vaughan's team looked Australia in the eye, refused to be intimidated and thoroughly deserved every decibel of applause that greeted their 100-run win in the first Twenty20 international between these two sides.
The batting contributions of Kevin Pietersen (34), Marcus Trescothick (41) and Paul Collingwood (46) raised excitement levels several more notches before an astonishing sequence of early wickets for Darren Gough (three for 16) and Jon Lewis (right, four for 24) almost brought the house down.
But if you are looking for one more sign that England do not intend to be bullied, then Andrew Flintoff provided it.
The all-rounder scored only six and failed to take a wicket as England totalled 179 for eight and dismissed the dual world champions for 79.
But Flintoff proved he is able and more than willing to mix it with the Aussies if they want to play rough.
Brett Lee, who touched 94mph, and Michael Kasprowicz only had a handful of deliveries at the Lancastrian yet still added weight to the theory that
Australia's bowlers will try to 'stick it up him' this tour.
They had better be ready to get plenty back in return.
Flintoff charged in to hit Lee on the shoulder with a bouncer that was too quick for the No8 and put lifting deliveries past the noses of
Kasprowicz and Glenn McGrath.
Twenty20 may have been the name of the game but, at worst, Flintoff finished on deuce in his opening skirmish with the Aussie fast bowlers.
"You can't be intimidated when you play Australia," Vaughan agreed. "They will have stages this summer when they are on top of us, and that's going to be the real test of our team."
If the atmosphere is anything like that at the Rose Bowl, England will feel they are playing with an extra man, courtesy of the crowd.
And, should it prove to be the case, Pietersen may become such a force in the limited-overs games that the selectors simply have to pick him for the npower First Test on 21 July.
He is a self-confessed showman and, as he demonstrated in South Africa, the bigger the part the more likely he is to succeed.
"I'm one of those who loves to play in front of a big crowd, loves being on TV and loves trying to get the best out of myself," Pietersen said.
Collingwood and Lewis presented stronger cases for the man-of-the-match award but TV viewers voted overwhelmingly for Pietersen. England supporters love him already and, at 24, he could make the affair last a long time.
