Stripped off his vice-captaincy for a late night drinking binge during the World Cup, Andrew Flintoff [Images] could lead England [Images] in case a stomach bug keeps regular captain Paul Collingwood [Images] out of the fourth one-day international against India on Thursday.

Talking to reporters on the eve of the match at Old Trafford, Flintoff said he was asked to be ready to lead the side even though the all-rounder exuded confidence that Collingwood would recover in time.

"He's said if he has to go off then I will take over. But after that, there is nothing that has really been discussed and, as I say, we are expecting Paul to play," Flintoff said.

Flintoff lost vice-captaincy in the West Indies [Images] after the embarrassing "Fredalo" episode, where he, along with a few teammates were found in a rocking boat in the wee hours.

Since then, Flintoff missed much of the action with a nagging left ankle injury and after playing the first two one-dayers against India, he again missed Monday's third match at Edgbaston with a sore knee.

England does not boast of a great record in ODIs but Flintoff felt things are finally looking bright for the side.

"Over a period of time, we have shown that we can beat sides in one-off games. We have got to string some results together now. That's the next step for this group of lads," he said.

He referred to Monday's 42-run win against India and said, "That performance in the field is something England have been striving for a long time and we reached that."

Asked about his fitness, the talismanic all-rounder said, "I've come through my training session. I've bowled, batted and done what I need to, and hopefully it doesn't flare up and I can get on with it tomorrow."

He said the team has done well to go into the fourth game of the seven-match series with a 2-1 lead but the job is not done yet.

"We have played well for the two games we've won and we have got to keep India under pressure.

"It is a new look side, it is about learning but first and foremost we want to win games of cricket. If we can learn along the way, then great. But we're going nicely at the moment."