Moores eyes Flintoff impact

Andrew Flintoff has impressed with the ball for Lancashire this season © Getty Images

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England coach Peter Moores expects all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to make a “huge difference” once he returns to the team.

Flintoff missed England’s winter programme after undergoing a fourth operation on his troublesome ankle.

He is now with Lancashire trying to prove his fitness and find form ahead of a possible England return in the npower Test series against New Zealand which starts next month.

Moores said “Freddie is an all-rounder, one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world, so once Freddie is playing well he's going to get into that Test match team and make a huge difference. The key is that he gets playing well.”

Flintoff, 30, has so far made an encouraging start to the season with his county, impressing with the ball without finding his best touch with the bat.

Moores added: “What's really promising at the moment is that he's pain-free, he's playing for Lancashire and he seems in a really good place.

“He's working extremely hard, he wants to play for England when he's playing well.

“We'll support him with that and we'll have to see how he goes over the next few weeks before we get to the Test match series with New Zealand.”

Moores also insists he has no concerns over the form of captain Michael Vaughan.

The Test skipper had a disappointing series with the bat in New Zealand recently and is yet to find form with Yorkshire this term.

Moores told Sky Sports News: “Michael's reputation as a captain and as a batter goes before him - he's had a good year in many ways.

“Unfortunately, he had a bad last Test match and people have latched on to that, but Michael is a fantastic cricketer and he has got another game now before that Test match series.

“I've no worries really, because the way he's played so far over the last 12 months since he came back from injury, he has shown he's a mature cricketer and he has got lots of runs left in him.”