England are planning to continue their short-pitched strategy against West Indies captain Brian Lara in an attempt to test his courage and try to limit his effectiveness in tomorrow's ICC Champions Trophy final.

So successful was England's bouncer barrage of the brilliant left-hander during this winter's Test series in the Caribbean that he barely scored a run until he reached the final Test in Antigua.

He then responded in typical fashion by regaining the world Test record with an unbeaten 400.

The fast, short-pitched assault on Lara from Steve Harmison and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was a key factor in England's first Test series win in the Caribbean for 36 years.

It was equally successful during this summer's 4-0 whitewash when he was restricted to two half-centuries.

The growing suspicion that Lara is becoming increasingly susceptible to short-pitched bowling gained in momentum on Wednesday.

He was struck on the back of the neck after failing to avoid a bouncer from Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar during his side's seven-wicket semi-final victory at the Rose Bowl.

He was forced to retire hurt on 31 and suffered a short spell of dizziness and a slight headache.

But Lara is expected to take his place in West Indies' line-up as they attempt to underline their credentials as challengers for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean by lifting the ICC Trophy for the first time.

England will not hesitate to maintain their ruthless strategy against him at The Oval as they also attempt to win this competition for the first time and cap a memorable summer during which they have also recorded seven successive Test victories.

''We'll discuss certain things, but we'll go in with a similar plan to how we have approached every game,'' claimed England coach Duncan Fletcher.

''Brian Lara is a great player and has probably been hit before.

''We can't just attack him with bouncers, we have to attack him intelligently and we have to think on our feet out there.

"But it's been a successful approach against most teams. Our pace bowlers have been able to maintain the pressure and that's why it's been such an effective unit against most sides.''

England were similarly effective against West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan this winter. But he has regained his form and already has two man-of-the-match awards to his name during the tournament, while hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are also a threat.

''They are a very experienced batting line-up with players like Lara, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul, who have all played a great deal of one-day cricket, and are very talented batters who can take a game away from you very quickly,'' conceded Fletcher.

''That's really where their strength is and that's an area we have to be careful about, but they've also got some very good bowlers and had a couple of good wins."

While Lara faces close monitoring between now and the weekend to assess his condition, England could not be happier about the form and confidence of their own captain following the man-of-the-match semi-final performance of Michael Vaughan.

Having reached a half-century once in his previous 11 one-day outings for England, Vaughan hit a magnificent 86 against Australia on Tuesday and claimed the crucial wickets of Damien Martyn and Darren Lehmann with his off-spin.

Fletcher believes Vaughan's starring role in such a major match can only help the team's prospects in the final.

''The important thing is to do it against Australia,'' explained Fletcher.

''Most people would struggle to do it against a side like that who put you under so much pressure, and yet he went out there and bowled well, batted well and fielded well.

''It just shows his character and that's the reason we've had the belief we've had in him. We think he's going to be a tremendous asset for English cricket for many years to come.''

* West Indies have an additional incentive to bounce back with a victory when they meet England in the ICC Champions Trophy final.

The Caribbean islands have taken a hammering from the recent hurricanes and the West Indian cricketers are hoping their emergence from the international wilderness can put a smile back on the faces of their fans at home.

''It's very important for us. As a team we are hungry to play well for the people back home,'' said vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan.

''We haven't actually won anything in recent times and hopefully we will be able to pull off something outstanding.''