Flintoff's ankle gnawing at the feelgood factor

So much for that lack of a Plan B. Before the series, Brian Lara had spoken bullishly of England's one-dimensional game plan, suggesting that Steve Harmison was their only source of wickets. But his words came back to haunt him on the final day of the Lord's Test. By the time Ashley Giles had ripped a magnificent delivery through Lara's gate and into middle stump, en route to his first five-wicket haul in England, West Indies were a busted flush and England were sauntering to their seventh victory in their last eight Tests, and seven in their last nine against the once-mighty Windies.

The emergence of Giles as a genuine attacking option has been the revelation of this summer's Test programme. He managed just two wickets in the entire series in the Caribbean, and was rumoured to be considering his future in the game, but for now, all his worries have been transferred onto the shoulders of the West Indians, who have had just two days to gather their wits and regroup ahead of tomorrow's second Test at Edgbaston.

The size of West Indies' defeat - 210 runs - is a particular cause for concern, because if truth be told, England's performance had considerable scope for improvement. There were, of course, some hugely noteworthy highlights - Giles's haul, Michael Vaughan's twin hundreds, Robert Key's maiden double-century, and Andrew Strauss's ongoing love-in at Lord's - but other aspects of England's game were less impressive. The two Joneses, Geraint and Simon, were disappointing by recent standards, and while Harmison was more than entitled to an off-day, it was unfortunate that the semi-fit Andrew Flintoff had to be relied on to paper over the cracks.

For all the protestations of the England camp, Flintoff's ankle continues to gnaw away at the current feelgood factor. Yesterday, the chief medical officer, Dr Peter Gregory, insisted that the injury was responding well to treatment, and today Vaughan warned that Flintoff could be expected to produce more overs than at Lord's. But it can only be hoped that his galumphing bowling is called upon as little as possible this week. Given that Simon Jones is struggling with a bruised toe, England may opt to give James Anderson a first Test outing since December. Edgbaston is a venue that could favour swing bowling, and Anderson's youthful eagerness to impress would add an extra zing to England's attack.

Mark Butcher, who suffered whiplash in a car accident last week, has already been ruled out of the match after aggravating a thigh strain - a development which spared the selectors a tricky decision, and ensured that Key did not become the second England cricketer after Geoffrey Boycott to be dropped after scoring a double-century. "I'd be disappointed to be dropped," Key admitted to the BBC, "but Butcher deserves more than someone crashing into the back of him and missing out on a few Tests."

Aside from Shivnarine Chanderpaul's batting feats, West Indies had few positives to take from Lord's. Tino Best and Fidel Edwards were living proof that speed without accuracy is an invitation to get pummelled, and it was left to the more level-headed Pedro Collins to show them the way with some coolly probing left-arm swing. It is highly probable that the newly arrived Corey Collymore will find a berth in the side as well. Collymore picked up a mere three wickets against England in the Caribbean, but he was hugely unlucky in his performances, and more often than not he played a vital holding role with his line-and-length approach.

For Lara, tomorrow's match is a return to the scene of one of his most memorable feats - his world-record 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994. "I have very good memories there," he admitted, and certainly it has been a favoured venue on his two previous appearances there with West Indies. In 2000, they took an early lead in the series with an emphatic innings-and-93-run victory (Lara made 50), while five years before that, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop mugged England on an absolute minefield of a track, in a two-and-a-bit-day match where Robin Smith produced a mini-masterpiece with his second-innings 41 out of 89.

Bishop was back on the attack yesterday, although this time it was the West Indians in his sights. "I don't want to hear the excuse that this is an inexperienced side," he told the Channel 4 website, adding that it was time for the team, and the captain in particular, to start taking responsibility for their results. "Lara's record as captain is not very good and this is a tour that will determine whether he is the right person to lead the West Indies in the future." Another defeat here, and the Wisden Trophy will be lost for another four years - it is fair to say that Lara knows only too well what is at stake tomorrow.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Robert Key, 4 Michael Vaughan (capt), 5 Graham Thorpe, 6 Andrew Flintoff, 7 Geraint Jones (wk), 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Matthew Hoggard, 10 Steve Harmison, 11 James Anderson.

West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Brian Lara (capt), 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Ridley Jacobs (wk), 8 Omari Banks, 9 Tino Best, 10 Pedro Collins, 11 Corey Collymore.