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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pata" data-source="post: 409142" data-attributes="member: 2136">By Richard Sydenham in Guyana, Sunday TelegraphAndrew Flintoff said he and his England team-mates needed to start playing to their potential, otherwise they might be "found out" by their next World Cup opponents Sri Lanka on Wednesday.England move to Antigua after chalking up their first points with an unconvincing victory against Ireland in Guyana on Friday.No matter how many dinners Flintoff paid for while dining with his friend Muttiah Muralitharan at the teams' hotel in Georgetown this week, he knows there will not be any gratitude shown by the Sri Lankan out in the middle.Off-spinner Muralitharan is 62 wickets away from surpassing Wasim Akram's one-day world-record tally of 502. Although he will not reach anywhere near that mark at this World Cup, the rubber-wristed off-spinner could certainly upset England's plans to reach a fourth semi-final.advertisement"He's tricky," Flintoff said of Murali's threat, with an understated calmness befitting a man who has faced him many times in the nets at Lancashire. "He's my mate and I enjoy playing with him at Lancashire, I've had dinner with him a couple of times here but when you play against him there are no favours. It's tough.Flintoff spent valuable time at the crease against Ireland, making 43, having faced just one ball previously in the World Cup.Of course his inactivity was brought on himself after his ill-advised drinking session 16 days ago. That experience, no doubt humiliating for a player who was captaining the side in Australia earlier this year, appears to have refocused his determination. 'Freddie' seems hungry again.He has failed to survive the group stages in his previous two World Cups, at home in 1999 and in South Africa four years ago. That is also a motivating factor."I want to do well for the team, to be honest," he said. "I've played in two World Cups already and this is the first time I've played in a side that has progressed to the second phase."Regarding Sri Lanka, conscientiously drilled by coach Tom Moody and driven by Murali and key batsman Kumar Sangakkara, Flintoff is well aware of their strengths.Particularly of pace bowler Lasith Malinga, who is favourite to win 'hairdo of the tournament' with his long mop and blond streaks. His penchant for kissing the ball before every delivery would even make Jack Russell appear normal."They're a well-rounded team," Flintoff said. "They're explosive at the start with the bat and they've got players who can knock it around and then give it a tap at the end as well."Their bowling is well varied, with Malinga coming into the side and bowling in the way that he does. He's an explosive bowler, along with Murali and Vaas, so it's going to be a tough game." He added, on his own team: "I think we're getting better. It's a talented team and we can all perform a bit better than we are."</blockquote>

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