ANDREW Flintoff has confirmed he was against the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision to sack Peter Moores as England coach.

A row between captain Kevin Pietersen and Moores led to both men losing their posts within the England camp .

Pietersen had demanded the ECB remove Moores as coach after the Hampshire batsman concluded he could no longer work with Moores, who replaced Duncan Fletcher following the 2007 World Cup.

Lancashire all-rounder Flintoff, who was assumed to have been one of Moores' biggest supporters within the England camp, admitted he was sad to see the former Sussex coach leave.

“We had a sense of what was happening out in India and the one thing with Kevin, which I've said to him, was: 'As a captain, as a player, I'll support you.' The way I played proves that,” Flintoff said.

“I didn't want him to finish. I thought he could have given himself time to grow into the role.

“But I couldn't support him in not having the coach there, because I had a good relationship with Peter Moores, and I was open about that with Kevin, with Mooresy and Hugh Morris, (England cricket's managing director).

“To be fair to Mooresy the one thing he's kept is his dignity. Because he's a good man. He is a good man.”

Flintoff revealed that Andrew Strauss, who has replaced Pietersen as captain for the upcoming series with the West Indies, held an England team meeting last week to try to unify what has been described as a divided squad.

“Straussy wanted everyone to get together so if there were any problems it could be done and dusted before we meet up. There weren't. It lasted about 45 minutes, then we had lunch and went home,” said Flintoff.

“I get on well with Strauss. He's actually a good man. He's his own man.

“We're very much chalk and cheese, but we get on fine. He's the brunt of the jokes sometimes, so we're going to have to tone that down.”

Flintoff has captained England before, during tours of India and Australia, but Freddie insists he did not want to be considered for a return as skipper.

“When Vaughany came back in I was glad to go back to the ranks,” he said. “As a player I go home and switch off. As a captain I couldn't. It was with me all the time. And that affected me. It affected my mood. It's not something I'd want to do again.”

Flintoff also rejected claims that Steve Harmison had been at the centre of a rift within the England camp and insisted the Durham seamer is a team player.

“Harmy's great for the team. If anyone's got a problem they go straight to Harmy,” said Flintoff.

“He's got his door open every time. He's got his DVDs. It's almost as if Harmy's room has become the team room or the common room for everyone. His influence on the side, which isn't seen, is absolutely huge.”
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