Cricket: Tough draw for England in ICC Champions Trophy.

ENGLAND have discovered just how difficult it is to win one-day matches in India during the past week - and it will get no easier when they return later in the year.

The draw for the ICC Champions Trophy in October, officially announced yesterday, puts them in the same group as world champions Australia, hosts India and possibly current holders West Indies.

Presently, England's plans to get back into a series they trail by 2-0 involved Fletcher conversing with Matthew Maynard and captain Andrew Flintoff between international flights.

Fletcher is the sixth member of the touring party to leave the nine-week tour - Flintoff also departed temporarily - but Maynard insisted disruption was minimal.

"I have spoken to him and Freddie has spoken to him as well regarding selection, just to firm things up," said Maynard.

"Duncan and Freddie are still in charge of the team, it is just that Duncan isn't here.

"The fact he has been on a plane doesn't make any difference, he could easily have been in his room on a sick bed and I would have taken practice then. "He has obviously got a wealth more experience than me on the coaching side but we have very similar mindsets," All-rounder Paul Collingwood, one of the few current tourists to have played here in 2001-02, said: "We obviously miss Fletcher but we have got plenty of coaches out here, senior players and Freddie, whose charisma and leadership has been excellent."

England's attempts to claw themselves back into the series will be in stifling, humid conditions over the next few days, with the match in Goa followed by another southern stop in Cochin.

Collingwood said: "We were 3-1 down last time and came back to 3-3.

"So we are not down in the dumps yet."

SUMMARY Third Test Match Johannesburg: South Africa 303 (A G Prince 93) & 250-8 (M V Boucher 55 no, H H Gibbs 53, S R Clark 4-64) v Australia 270 (M E K Hussey 73, B Lee 64, M Ntini 6-100)

TODAY (9.30am unless stated) Third Test Match (day 4 of 5) Johannesburg: South Africa v Australia Second Test Match (day 1 of 5) Kandy: Sri Lanka v Pakistan (5.30am) Third One Day International (1 day) Goa: India v England (4.30am)