England will have Andrew Flintoff operating at full capacity at the Wanderers as they seek to regain the lead in the Test series and could bring in swing bowler James Anderson to freshen up the attack.

Flintoff came through a light fitness check on his side strain in practice yesterday, sending down around 20 deliveries at three-quarter pace, in his first bowl since incurring the injury during the 196-run defeat to South Africa in Cape Town last week.

That news was welcomed by captain Michael Vaughan, who believes the 27-year-old's influence is vital to the tourists' chances of a first series win here since the mid-1960s.

There are, however, concerns that the Lancastrian's workload is taking its toll with the eagerly-anticipated Ashes battle just six months away and anything more serious than a small muscle tear might hamper his first go at the Australians in the Test arena.

With just three days between this match and the final Test of the series, there is a heavy schedule ahead but Vaughan says he will not treat his side's leading wicket-taker in the series any differently.

''We will see how he bowls,'' Vaughan said. ''In Cape Town I thought he was our best bowler and in Durban probably our second best.

''As captain you just have to judge who is bowling well on that given day and also on that given surface.

''It is always a case of not wanting to drag him into the ground but there are periods of play where you have to bowl your best bowlers if you are going to win games of cricket.

''Over the last year or so Freddie has been - along with Steve Harmison - consistently our best bowler.

''People ask whether I have bowled Freddie too much but he's a real big threat when he's bowling and he always has their batsmen under pressure.

''Sure I have got one eye on the future but I have also got one eye on winning Test series and this is a crucial Test series for us to win.

''It is a huge part of our development to try to win out here and he is central to that.''

South Africa's win at Newlands levelled the series at 1-1 but Vaughan hopes a week of rest will have recharged the batteries sufficiently to replicate the standards of last summer, which have yet to be shown on this tour.

Flintoff's Lancashire team-mate Anderson will also come into the selection equation, pressurising Glamorgan paceman Simon Jones, due to the aerial movement usually on offer at a ground more often than not blanketed by thick cloud cover.

''He has been pushing hard all tour and he's made our job pretty difficult - it's always nice having a bowler like that on the sidelines pushing the guys in the team,'' Vaughan added.

''We have looked at Jimmy and the swing element can play a big part here so he has come into the frame in quite a big way.''

Vaughan made his debut in Johannesburg on England's last tour to South Africa when, after losing the toss, the tourists were two for four with the new boy at the crease.

He managed to bed in for a couple of hours on a wet pitch to hit 33 in the face of some high-class fast bowling from Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock but hopes the flip of a coin does not have a similar influence this time.

His record of losing 16 tosses in his 22 matches in charge led him to joke that he may send someone else out to do the honours.

''The toss did play a big factor on my debut; if we had won it I have no doubt we would have won that game,'' Vaughan reflected. ''I hope it does not decide the outcome of this game. Over the last year or so we have certainly lost more tosses than we have won and we have also won a lot more games than we have lost and that is a good omen.''

South Africa (from): GC Smith (capt), HM Amla, N Boje, MV Boucher, AB de Villiers, HH Dippenaar, HH Gibbs, JH Kallis, CK Langeveldt, M Ntini, SM Pollock, JA Rudolph, DW Steyn.

England (from): MP Vaughan (capt), JM Anderson, A Flintoff, AF Giles, SJ Harmison, MJ Hoggard, GO Jones, SP Jones, RWT Key, AJ Strauss, GP Thorpe, ME Trescothick