JAIPUR (India), Nov 29: England coach Duncan Fletcher praised the pace bowling of Craig White and Andrew Flintoff after they set up a three-wicket win over India’s A team on Thursday.

White returned to form with five for 31, four days before the Test series against India starts, and Fletcher said: “He has started to bowl genuine pace.

The Yorkshire all-rounder’s bowling for most of the last English season was below par because of a back injury. Coming into the Indian tour without much match practice, he found it difficult to bowl at full pace on slow tracks in the first two tour games.

Fletcher said Flintoff’s performance - he had a six-wicket match haul and scored a useful 40 - was a major boost after he arrived in India as back-up for White two days ago.

Fletcher said he was worried Flintoff did not have enough time to settle down, but thought he showed his confidence through his all-round efforts.

The England coach was happy his team put in a steady effort on the final day, first bowling out the opposition for 109 in their second innings and then batting steadily.

Fletcher criticised the pitches for England’s three warm-up games, saying the first two in Mumbai and Hyderabad were flat while the Jaipur track made batting very difficult.—Reuters