LONDON — Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was out for a duck against Durham as he looked to impress the England selectors ahead of the squad announcement for the first Test against New Zealand.

Flintoff was one of seven wickets to fall after lunch against the basement side at Old Trafford as Mark Davies took seven for 33 in the LV County Championship Division One.

Resuming on 75 for three, the hosts were hit when Mal Loye became Davies’ first victim of the afternoon session for 39 after Lancashire had reached 93 for four.

Adam Gilchrist’s suggestion that the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series was a waste of time and harmful to Australia’s World Cup preparations was hooked for six by Cricket Australia’s chief executive yesterday.

Gilchrist’s view that the transtasman series, which New Zealand sealed with their second win in Auckland on Sunday, was that it was harmful to Australia’s World Cup prospects.

“I’m going to be brutally honest here and say I don’t think too many people wanted it on at all,” Gilchrist told Fox Sports’ Inside Cricket television programme.

Brian Lara feels that playing the World Cup in the West Indies could work against his side due to the added pressure.

Sourav Ganguly is keen to focus on his bowling after making a resounding comeback to India’s one-day squad with the bat against Sri Lanka.

Manchester United face a big task convincing Henrik Larsson to stay beyond the end of his initial loan period from Helsingborgs.

Ronaldinho believes Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard has the ability to dent Barcelona’s bid to hold onto the UEFA Champions League this season.