At the same time as Australia were being dismissed for 209 in Nagpur, those in the England squad who took advantage of optional practice worked with a man who once scored more than that off his own bat in a Test innings in the same city. On his day Andy Flower was reckoned to be the best player of spin in the world. The question now is whether he can relay that expertise.

The warm-up match against a Mumbai XI today represents the second and final dress rehearsal before the start of the seven-match one-day series against India starting on Friday, but it is taken as read that the ability to combat “twirl” will be crucial to prospects of victory. Flower will try to convince batsmen that the turn and bounce they will encounter are part of the pleasure of playing in India.

A net session yesterday involved a friendly competition to see who could face the greatest number of consecutive balls without an error against an assortment of enthusiastic local spin bowlers. With seven of the 16-man squad turning up, Flower took part to make up an even number and held his own under the adjudicating eye of Peter Moores, the head coach.

Flower, who was appointed England batting coach last season, scored 820 runs at an average of 117.14 in India, with a best score of 232 not out in 2000. He was masterful at the sweep and reverse sweep, learning the techniques from David Houghton, a Zimbabwe colleague, early in his career. “I always loved India and found all the noise exciting,” Flower said. “That way I never associated it with pressure.”

He does not believe in a “one size fits all” approach. “Important things, like picking length and understanding your game, are the same, however you play spin,” he said. “But somebody like Andrew Flintoff cannot use the same methods as Ian Bell or Ravi Bopara. They like to use their feet and get forward or back very quickly. ‘Fred' is a strong bloke and has to play accordingly. His strength is definitely playing strong shots down the ground.”

Flintoff has acknowledged Flower's contribution, and that respect is evidently mutual. Flower said: “He has more skill than some people think, certainly [more] than I [thought] before I watched him close up. He is quite deft for a big bloke. In the one-day games against South Africa at the end of last season he played [balls] really late, which is a difficult skill for somebody of that build.”

Ryan Sidebottom bowled the equivalent of about six overs in the nets in the latest stage of his rehabilitation from an Achilles injury, but he believes that the England medical team will act on the side of caution after his recent attempt to return fell flat during the Stanford fixtures. “I feel all right, but I guess they do not want to take a risk and put me back again,” he said.