Broad's return welcome boost for England

In what should have been a routine warm-up match for England very nearly turned into a humiliating embarrassment as Canada gave them a real scare at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.

Andrew Strauss' men, fresh from a massive three day break between this campaign and the tour of Australia, won the toss and elected to bat. They sprung an immediate surprise when Kevin Pietersen came to the crease as Strauss's 13th opening partner, and England's 21st in ODI cricket since the 2007 World Cup.

Former England captain Alec Stewart lamented his side's preparations for the 1999 World Cup in a recent TV Interview when a similar last minute change of tactics saw Nick Knight promoted to the top of the order. England struggled throughout that tournament, eventually tumbling out at the group stage. Any fans following the livescores goalwire this time will be worried about a repeat.

He expressed his confidence that things would be different under Andy Flower, whose meticulous preparation played a large part in their emphatic Ashes win.

But there is something about one-day cricket that spreads panic among England selectors, coaches and players, meaning any preparation for a major tournament is fraught with difficulty and on some occasion, chaos.

Promoting Pietersen to the top of the order may work, but it smacks of the sort of last minute desperation we thought we had seen the back of.

It has to be said that the gruelling tour of Australia also took its toll – the final One-day game down under saw England without six first-team players though injury and this could have an impact on the goalwire livescore.

One of those – Stuart Broad – made a welcome return in the Canada game and boy did England need him. After recovering from 28 for 5 inside the eight overs Canadian number Rizwan Cheema smacked 93 from 70 balls to put them within touching distance of England below par 243. But Broad removed Cheema and his battling partner Khurram Chohan to finish with figures of 5 for 37 and set up the narrow win.

Flower will hope that this uncertain and unconvincing start doesn't signal the beginning of yet another chaotic and ultimately unsuccessful World Cup campaign.