Graveney stands by Flintoff decision

SYDNEY, Jan 7 (Reuters) Andrew Flintoff was the right man to captain England in the Ashes series, chairman of selectors David Graveney said today.

Flintoff was at the helm as England were drubbed 5-0 by Australia and the fit-again Michael Vaughan will return as skipper for the one-day triangular tournament starting next week.

England coach Duncan Fletcher said he had concerns about Flintoff's workload when he was named as Vaughan's replacement ahead of Andrew Strauss but Graveney stood by the decision.

''There's nothing that has happened in the last six weeks that would make me personally change my mind,'' Graveney told a news conference.

''We've made a lot of mistakes, a lot of errors, but the appointment of the captain is not one of them. I take my hat off to him because it was a very difficult job for him to do and he's done it as well as he possibly can.'' Graveney said it was always understood that Flintoff was merely ''keeping the seat warm'' for Vaughan and that the all-rounder had happily accepted the decision to hand the captaincy back.

''He was fine because he understood that he was doing the job in Michael's absence,'' Graveney said. ''It was not a question of being sacked.

''Andrew is hurting the same way as everybody else is but now we're looking forward to a fresh start.'' Vaughan said he had had a brief chat to Flintoff on Saturday and was just looking forward to watching him play cricket again.

''I want to see him belting the ball into the stand and trying to bowl fast and all the other things he can do on a cricket pitch,'' Vaughan said.

''He's had a tough time like all the players but Australia played some great cricket and this is a real tough place to come.'' REUTERS PM KP1114