Flintoff maintains focus

Andrew Flintoff is keen for England to show their fighting spirit in the last two Tests

England will not allow the Christmas activities to affect their determination to produce a performance for their large army of supporters in the Boxing Day Test.

Despite losing the Ashes after only 463 days in their possession following defeats in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, the festive period will not prove a distraction, according to captain Andrew Flintoff.

He has set his sights on lifting the level of the tourists’ displays as thousands more fans arrive in Australia for the final two back-to-back Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

Flintoff believes the experience most of the squad have of Christmas away from home in South Africa and Australia on previous tours ensures it will not undermine their preparations for a Test at a redeveloped MCG, which is expected to hold 100,000 on the opening day.

“It is Christmas and the families are here and I’ll get up on the 25th and open presents with the kids and then put my kit on and go and practise - that’s just the way it happens,” he said.

“It’s Christmas but we’re here to do a job and we’re here to play cricket and we’ll enjoy our Christmas Day but the focus will be Boxing Day rather than my turkey.

“The occasion of playing a Test at Melbourne on Boxing Day is huge and we want to show we can win out here and we want to show we can win two Test matches.

“It’s a big occasion for us - there are a lot of people coming out to watch us and we want to give them something as well.

Flintoff is hoping to repay the faith shown by England fans

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“As well as playing for ourselves and the country, we want to play for the supporters who have made the trip over here.

“They’ve supported us well over the last three games and it would be nice to give them something back.”

England’s supporters will hope Australia, who are pressing for only the second Ashes whitewash in history, may have had distractions of their own following the announcements from Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath about their impending retirements.

It is not something which England’s squad are clinging to for comfort, however, as they battle with the problem of how to dismiss Australia twice to try and win a Test.

England have claimed only 39 wickets during the opening three Tests and, despite the off-field dramas, 29-year-old Flintoff is expecting Australia to be just as difficult to beat as they have been thus far in the series.

“When you go into a Test match against Australia, they’re trying to win irrespective of people retiring or whatever else is going on,” he said.

Flintoff has urged his players to maintain their self-belief

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“We know they are going to come at us hard again no matter what players’ current situations are and we expect a fierce game of cricket just like the first three.

“We’ve got a talented bowling attack but Australia are a tough side and to take 20 wickets against them is hard - it’s not something we’ve done so far.

“But we have to keep believing we can do and I believe the lads that come out onto the field can take 20 wickets.”

Flintoff has been given a cortisone injection in his troublesome left ankle, which was operated on again last summer, to try to ensure he does not suffer any more discomfort during the back-to-back Tests.

“It’s no secret I’ve had some discomfort in it over the past week or so and the injection is just precautionary,” he said. “I’m not envisaging any long-term problems or worrying about these next two Test matches.