WARM WELCOME: England cricketers arrive in Delhi and would be keen to go one better than last time in the Champions Trophy. — PHOTO: AP

NEW DELHI: In all fairness, Pakistan's manager Talat Ali could be excused for introducing skipper Younis Khan as "Mohammad Yousuf" on Saturday.

After all, the former ICC match referee was among those yet to get over the captaincy-related controversy kicked off by Younis.

Younis, formally reinstated as captain with Yousuf as his deputy earlier in the day, could not hide his embarrassment following the faux pas by the man who took over from Zaheer Abbas last month.

`All's well'

But the Pakistan skipper quickly regained his composure and went on to declare that all was well with the team that landed here on Saturday afternoon.

"Captaincy is an issue especially in Pakistan and India. Leading Pakistan is obviously an honour but believe me, if we win four matches here, I'll be too happy to have Inzamam-ul-Haq leading Pakistan in the final. I have grown up playing cricket by watching Inzamam bhai. He was the hero of our World Cup triumph in 1992, two years after I started playing the game. I'll be very happy to stand behind Inzamam bhai and watch him lift the trophy."

Talented side

Coach Bob Woolmer said he was happy with the attitude of the team. "Pakistan is proud of its cricket and this is a very talented side. I am sure Pakistan will play in the right spirit to win the trophy."

Earlier, England's captain Andrew Flintoff spoke about how it hurt to lose the final two years ago to West Indies after beating Australia in the semifinals.

"It surely hurts when you come so close (and not win it)," said Flintoff, back after a three-month lay off.

"It was great to get into the final but we did not put West Indies under pressure even after getting on top. We are keen to make amends."

Like the South African skipper Graeme Smith said on Thursday, Flintoff also chose to talk about his team's success against Australia and expressed the hope that the team could succeed again.

"We have played well against them (Australia) and we are hopeful of doing the same again. I think the boys came up with a fantastic effort to bounce back from 0-2 to level the one-day series against Pakistan. We showed signs of improvement. We don't fear anyone and we are here to beat the side we play against but we need to be more consistent," said Flintoff.

"We are here to win the Trophy and this competition is also an opportunity for many players to stake their claims for the World Cup."

England and India meet in the first match of the second stage on October 15 at Jaipur.

On his fitness level, Flintoff said, "I am hungry to play cricket. I've bowled at 60 per cent at the nets. We have more than a week for the first game and I think it (my fitness) should get better."

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