Go on, fire away ...

As they prepare for an encounter that could leave fans bleary-eyed for weeks after late nights on the edge of their seats, the Observer Sports Monthly meets both Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen - and find out why darts could be vital to the tour.

Read Jamie Jackson's interview with Andrew Flintoff where he says, "We'll go out there confident. And I have every intention of enjoying the whole experience."

Also read Rachel Cooke's interview with Kevin Pietersen, one that caught him totally unawares.

'I've been up since six,' says Pietersen, seizing the opportunity for a good moan. 'I only got to bed at midnight. I've got to go all day this afternoon and the launch party tonight, so I'll be up till four, then I've got to get up in the early hours to go to Milton Keynes.' Poor lamb. He is, he tells me, in need of a holiday - which is why he and Jess are about to head out to his parents' place in South Africa. 'I can just cruise there. There's a swimming pool. I don't have to leave the house. In England, I cruise. But Jess and I are all over the place. She's singing. I'm playing and shopping.' Playing and shopping. What a life.