Flintoff may bowl against West Indies

Andrew Flintoff, the England captain, has said that his out-of-contention side has pride at stake against a resurgent West Indies in their final Champions Trophy league match at Ahmedabad on October 28.

"Obviously, we want to finish the tournament with a victory," Flintoff told reporters on Friday. "We will play for pride and pride is the strong thing to play for. We want to win the game, especially in India. The West Indies may be through, but we want to put up a good show and like to go home with a win."

The England captain said there was a possibility he would bowl against the West Indies, but not the full quota of 10 overs. "It is a possibility as I have been bowling in the nets over the past two weeks or so," said Flintoff, coming off an ankle injury which forced him to skip the home one-day series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. "But I have no intention of bowling the full quota of 10 overs in any circumstances."

England, beaten by West Indies in the Champions Trophy final at home in 2004, failed to make it to the semi-finals this time after losing to India and Australia in Group A.

West Indies advanced to the semi-finals after beating India on Thursday for their second successive victory in Group A. The other semi-finalists from this group will be the winners of the India-Australia game at Mohali on Sunday.

Flintoff said nothing had so far gone right for his team in the tournament and they were keen on winning ahead of the Ashes series in Australia next month. "We have not performed in this tournament, so we need to perform tomorrow. When you are all out for 125 and 169 you ask a lot from your bowlers. But we need to focus now."

"It is an important game for us in our development. Next week, we go home and spend time with the family. We then get on to the plane and my attention will be on the Ashes," he said. "The team showed a lot of character when we came back against Pakistan at home this summer to draw the [one-day] series 2-2. We have good players in the team who are keen to perform tomorrow."