England must go back to the drawing board - Flintoff

SYDNEY, Jan 5 (Reuters) England captain Andrew Flintoff said there was nothing more his team could have done to stop Australia from regaining the Ashes and admitted they had been comprehensively outplayed.

Flintoff said the Australians had raised the standard of international cricket to a new level and England would have to go back to the drawing board if they wanted to compete in the next Ashes series in 2009.

''We came up against a side that's been fantastic throughout,'' Flintoff told a news conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground today.

''Australia hit us hard in the first game and in patches we've competed with them and played some good cricket but every time we've tried to put our foot in the door it's been closed in front of us.

''They've raised the bar in this series, they've just been awesome all-round...they really made it tough for us.'' England could not have made a worse start to their Ashes defence when Steve Harmison's first ball in the Brisbane test speared off the pitch to second slip.

They lost the first test by 277 runs and the second in Adelaide after a dramatic last-day batting collapse before Australia regained the Ashes in record time by winning the third match in Perth.

Flintoff vowed that England would play better in their final two tests but the tourists fared even worse, losing by an innings in Melbourne and 10 wickets in Sydney to suffer their first 5-0 Ashes loss since 1920-21.

''We played well in patches but we just couldn't string it together for a full test match,'' Flintoff said.

''To lose an Ashes series 5-0 obviously isn't nice but having said that I couldn't have asked for anything more from the lads.

''The effort and everything they've given throughout the series, as captain I couldn't have asked for anything more.'' REAL PROBLEM Flintoff rejected the notion that England's short preparation was to blame for their defeat, saying the real problem was that not enough players performed when it mattered.

''I'm not going to make excuses, from that first match at the Gabba I was ready to play test cricket and I can probably vouch for the rest of the lads on that too,'' he said.

''To beat Australia you need seven or eight of the lads performing in each test match whereas it's only been two, three, maybe four at the most in certain games and that just isn't enough.'' Despite the magnitude of defeat, Flintoff said he was confident England would learn from their mistakes and the experience would help them become a better side.

''I know we've been beaten 5-0 but it can't be a pointless exercise. This is a young side and as long as we've learned something from this we can go forward,'' Flintoff said.

''Some of the lads have scored runs and had success against them, showing that they can compete against the best in the world.

''I've experienced both sides of it now. The Oval in 2005, the jubilation and the joy of winning the Ashes, then today, and probably in Perth as well, I've experienced the other side and it's not very nice.

''I've heard the Australians speak about watching on at the Oval, they used that as a spur for this series we've just played in.

''For 2009, I'm sure that's something the lads will remember, it gives us the spur on for that series.'' REUTERS SAM DS1120