MUMBAI: England captain Andrew Flintoff faces the third and final Test against India at the weekend — which he describes as a "must win" match — without his buddy, his principle advisor and constant companion the tall, rangy fast bowler Steve Harmison.

In the mid-afternoon Flintoff was emphasising that Harmison was not out of the match but by early evening the anticipated decision had been made that it was too risky to play the big man.

"Losing a high class bowler like Harmy is a blow," he said. England has a large medical squad with it, but Flintoff made no reference to trying to repair Harmison's condition — known confusingly as "shin splints" although there is no conventional medical splint that can be applied.

As England is already without Michael Vaughan, Ashley Giles, Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones from its Ashes winning squad you might think Flintoff was understating how much his pal would be missed.

These two are friends to the extent that they always have adjacent rooms, they spend their spare time together, eat together, go out together; inseparable is the only word to describe them. It helps Harmison deal with his acute homesickness; it gives Flintoff a shoulder to lean on, a pal to moan to and a fast bowler with a good cricket brain to consult.

Replacement problem

England's problem is to find the right replacement. Does it return to the left arm spin of Ian Blackwell, far from convincing in Nagpur? Does it return to the off spin of Shaun Udal who played in Pakistan but who has been ill in India? Does it stretch even further back and recall the fast bowler Jimmy Anderson who has never totally convinced anyone that he is as good as the reputation he built so quickly in his early days.

England also has to decide whether Harmison remains with the squad for the seven one-day internationals. It seems unlikely in view of the massive Test and World Cup programme of the next 18 months. Flintoff remains upbeat. It is difficult to see him in any other condition; it comes naturally for this man to see the bright side. "This is a must-win game for us," he said in reply to a question about England having lost three of their five Tests this winter.

"But there were signs in Nagpur where we played well and in Mohali where we fought hard that we can pull off an outstanding win. We must do the simple things right, our batsmen must go on to make big scores and take us beyond 400 if we are to win this game. An innings like Paul Collingwood`s at Nagpur is required."

Actually, if it is to win this game Flintoff will probably have to do most of the work himself and reassuringly he says he has survived the ordeal of intense cricket — two matches back to back as all-rounder and new captain — to his satisfaction. "A couple of days after the second Test I feel ok."

It is just as well to know he is not about to join the ranks of the absentees. My new best friend is the hairdresser Mohammad across the road from the Taj hotel who greeted me this morning with the news that Flintoff was going home. "Very ill, sir." Then he demanded I present him with a set of match tickets "so I can watch my hero Flintoff." I know India can be confusing to foreigners but I don't know how to deal with this contradictory information.

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