Andrew Flintoff will captain England throughout the remainder of the tour of India, although coach Duncan Fletcher concedes the extra responsibility may be too much in the longer term.

Flintoff, 28, impressed when leading a revamped England side in the drawn first Test at Nagpur, after Michael Vaughan succumbed to a knee injury on the eve of the contest.

With neither Vaughan nor Marcus Trescothick, absent indefinitely for personal reasons, likely to return to the nine-week tour it is a role he will keep for the one-day series.

However, Fletcher yesterday hinted at fears that the burden of captaincy could effect the outstanding form of Flintoff, a man who bats in the top six and is a key bowler.

''At the moment it is a lot to do,'' said Fletcher. ''Just as an all-rounder he had a lot to do.

''Adding the captaincy could be what he needs to step his game up to another level. We will only find that out later on. There is a chance we might be asking a lot of him.''

Last week's chain of events pushed Flintoff, who led his country in a warm-up match in Sri Lanka two winters ago, to the front of the queue of contenders, ahead of Andrew Strauss.

''Fred, at this stage, will captain for the rest of the tour,'' said Fletcher. ''He captained well.

''Considering the circumstances it wasn't an easy game. Being thrown in he had to grab hold of the reins straightaway, which he did.

''You can see immediately he is a guy who wants to lead from the front.''

Fletcher expressed doubts that Trescothick, Vaughan's long-term deputy, would return to the sub-continent.

''There is a very good chance he will not play in this Test series and probably a good chance he will not play in the one-dayers either,'' Fletcher said, having communicated with Trescothick in the past few days.

Had it not been for the unavailability of Vaughan, Trescothick and Simon Jones, three of England's prime performers would not have been playing.

Debutant Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood hit centuries to claim the spare batting berths in style, while left-arm spinner Monty Panesar exerted control and pressure for the tourists, scalping Indian stars Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in the process.

''What is so pleasing is that these guys look as though they have really got a desire not just to play for England but to do well,'' said Fletcher.

''I was very impressed with what I saw of Cook in Pakistan and that is why we got him back this time.

''As for Monty, I was surprised with the control he had right from the word go. He didn't seem to show any nerves.

''He has a good classical action and that is what we have been trying to get out of our bowlers instead of these mechanical actions which leave you fighting to get consistency.''

Durham's Collingwood played the kind of innings to shatter lingering illusions of him being a one-day specialist, an unbeaten 134 which kept England competitive after a first-day slump. In all he struck 170 runs without being dismissed.

Injuries mean Collingwood has featured in four of England's last five Tests, having previously played two in his first four years as an international cricketer, but he may remain in his own right beyond this series after following scores of 96 and 80 against Pakistan in Lahore.

''He is one guy who has shown some character,'' said Fletcher. ''He has been given very few chances and yet he has grabbed them on nearly every occasion.

''He played two great innings in Pakistan and to come out and play that knock shows why I have wanted him around the side for some time.

''He has got that buzz about him, which is very important. He has done a hell of a job and we have to take note of that.''

Fletcher also threw his weight behind wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, who dropped two catches at the VCA ground, the first of which came early in a 128-run stand for the eighth Indian wicket.

Jones has been an integral member of England's extended run of success but his glovework has come under scrutiny since he ousted Chris Read two years ago.

But Fletcher countered: ''As I have said on numerous occasions, I have seen other guys put down chances.

''I have been watching South Africa play and the top keeper is putting down chances.

''Geraint kept magnificently in Pakistan, then missed two difficult chances here. If he was putting down nine-to-five jobs then you probably would be worried but they were two difficult chances.

''We are looking for the balance of the side. We want an individual there who has got an important job to do to try to get runs and keep wicket.

''At this stage - we will monitor everyone's progress - we are quite happy with the way the team is performing and his performance.