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Flintoff targets Ashes revenge

09/10/2008

Andrew Flintoff has admitted England will be out for revenge next summer after they were whitewashed in the last Ashes series in Australia two years ago.

The Lancastrian all-rounder led a depleted side down under in 2006/07, who were taken apart by a rampant Australian side in a 5-0 defeat.

And Flintoff, who was named man of the series when England originally reclaimed the urn on home soil in 2005, said the pain of defeat in Australia still rankles with him.

"As emotional as winning the Ashes was, the emotions of being thrashed were much stronger," the 30-year-old said.

"I've never been a goal-setter - I'm a sports psychologist's nightmare to be honest - but I really want to make up for that next summer."

Despite looking ahead to 2009, when Australia captain Ricky Ponting and new England skipper Kevin Pietersen will go head-to-head, Flintoff was careful to suggest he remains fully focused on the winter of preparation in India first.

"We can't look too far ahead," he continued.

"We've got a big one-day series in India coming up and that will be a true test of where we are as a one-day team.

"We can't afford for [the 4-0 series win over] South Africa to be a false dawn."