Flintoff not thinking about Ashes revenge

BIRMINGHAM, England, (Reuters) – England all-rounder  Andrew Flintoff said he was not thinking about revenge for the  humiliating 5-0 Ashes defeat by Australia in 2006-07.

Flintoff deputised as captain for the injured Michael  Vaughan during that series in Australia.
“It was tough for a while afterwards but that is a long way  off and there have been a lot of things happen in my life since  2006,” Flintoff told reporters on Monday.

“So as for scarring I wouldn’t say there is a great deal  there. I’m just looking forward to playing. When you have missed  as much cricket as I have and you come back into the side you  want to enjoy it.

“I love playing cricket, it’s been taken away from me at  various points in my career so it’s about cherishing playing  every time you get an opportunity to do so, especially when you  have got the three lions on.”

Flintoff, 31, has played in 75 test matches, taking 218  wickets, scoring 3,645 runs and holding 51 catches. He was named  man of the series after helping England to their first Ashes win  for 18 years in 2005.

After a succession of injury problems he will test his  fitness in a three-day warm-up game against Warwickshire  starting tomorrow before next week’s first test against the  Australians.

“I’ve had two years rehab since 2005 so it’s been tough but  the reason you do it is to put the England shirt back on and get  the chance to play in an Ashes series,” he said.

“And I’m not far away from that now. As you get older you  don’t want to miss much cricket because you don’t know how much  you have got left in you.
“When I was in the gym and trying to get fit again it was  all about playing in the Ashes. I would have loved to play in  the Twenty20 World Cup because it looked like a great tournament  but the ultimate is the Ashes.”