Ashes gearing up for take off

Andrew Flintoff and the England side before departure © Getty Images

Buy this photo

England captain Andrew Flintoff believes this winter’s Ashes could be ‘the biggest series ever’.

The squad chosen to defend the Ashes boarded a plane at Heathrow on Friday night as they head to Sydney, via Hong Kong, to begin their preparations for the first Test which starts in Brisbane on November 23.

Expectations are much higher than previous tours Down Under after England’s superb performance in regaining the famous urn during a dramatic summer last year.

That success, their first for 18 years, catapulted the sport on to both the front and back pages as Ashes fever swept the country.

With a resumption of hostilities just a few weeks away Flintoff is well aware the British public are already gearing up for a repeat performance.

“It is going to be tough. We know that 2005 was something special and whether that can be recreated I am not quite sure,” said the Lancashire all-rounder.

“In England each Test match got bigger and bigger and we got a real feeling of what the Ashes was about.

“It was the first time I had played in them and this is the first time I will have played an Ashes series in Australia, so too for a few of the lads, and there is a real excitement.

Steve Harmison and Ashley Giles go to the departure gate at Heathrow before boarding their plane

“This is the reason we play. We are going over there to play in what could be the biggest series ever so there is an excited group of lads.”

The Aussies are still smarting from their closely-contested 2-1 defeat just over a year ago and they are likely to provide stiffer opposition playing on home soil with a huge vocal support behind them.

Flintoff said although the team enjoyed their Ashes victory they will not under-estimate their opponents.

In fact, facing Ricky Ponting’s side in their own back yard is something of a motivational tool for the players.

“Having the chance to go to Australia and compete against the best side in the world again is something the lads are very excited about,” he said.

“We have got a young, talented side looking forward to Tests against Australia, the best side in the world, in front of Australian crowds.

“There will be some late nights for people [back home] because the games start quite early but hopefully we can do something special.

“It is something which we are looking forward to doing and hopefully we can create that buzz about cricket again over the next few weeks.”