freddie flexes his muscles

Read - unlucky to be dropped.

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By Simon Wilkes

Andrew Flintoff appears to have flexed his captaincy muscle for the first time.

Out-of-sorts wicketkeeper Geraint Jones has been confirmed as the man to wear the gloves for the Ashes opener later this month, and there is one reason for that - Freddie.

Chris Read failed to impress during England's shambolic Champions Trophy bid - but he was certainly not alone in that department and his axe from the Test side seems somewhat harsh.

Read, a far superior keeper to Jones, performed admirably when given his chance for the last two Tests against Pakistan, scoring useful runs with the tail and snaffling catches with a natural ease Jones willl never have in his armoury.

But it was Jones, along with spinner Ashley Giles, who galvanised the all-for-one and one-for-all spirit among the players during 2005's memorable Ashes campaign, when the likes of Flintoff continually came out in support of the pair, who were widely derided in the media.

That mentality appears to have lingered long in the memory of both the stand-in captain and coach Duncan Fletcher, who insists Jones has been recalled as he is a stronger batting option for the number seven slot.

And that's also where Freddie comes in. The Lancashire all-rounder clearly enjoys batting with Jones and their understanding out in the middle often helped England establish the big first-innings totals which put the Aussies under pressure in that famous Ashes victory.

Flintoff is trying to build his match fitness to ensure he poses the same threat with the ball as he did two summers ago - but his batting is also going to be crucial.

So even if it's from a purely personal point of view that Freddie wants Jones following him at number seven, let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now.