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England’s players cannot revel in last season’s Ashes triumph any longer.

Stand-in England captain Andrew Flintoff said on Wednesday his team and their fans must turn their attention from the victory over the Australians last year to the first Test against Sri Lanka starting at Lord’s here on Thursday.

“I think there still is an excitement about cricket, people are still talking about last year but at some point we have to move on and that’s going to be tomorrow (Thursday) morning,” Flintoff said. “I don’t think we’ll recreate what happened last year with the Ashes … but if we can get a buzz and excitement about cricket again, that’s down to us. If we start winning, I’m sure the nation will get behind us once again.’’

Following last year’s 2-1 series victory against Australia, in which England reclaimed the Ashes for the first time since 1989, Flintoff’s team have been hit by injuries to key players, including regular captain Michael Vaughan (knee).

Flintoff took over during England’s tour of India and drew praise for his leadership when the series was drawn 1-1. Before that, England had lost 2-0 in Pakistan.

“We’ve got to win cricket matches,’’ Flintoff said. “We want to be the best side in the world so we have to start winning Test series and that starts tomorrow against Sri Lanka and later on in the summer against Pakistan. We don’t just want to win a Test series or scrape home. We want to win well.”

This summer England host a three-Test series against Sri Lanka, followed by four Tests against Pakistan.

All-rounder Flintoff said he was enjoying the captaincy, dismissing any suggestion the responsibility of bowling, batting and leading the side might prove a burden. “I don’t think you can put the England captaincy and burden in the same sentence,’’ Flintoff said. “It’s a job you want to do, it’s a job I’ve enjoyed doing.”

Sri Lanka have plenty of inexperienced players but captain Mahela Jayawardene says they are learning from every game, including a ten-wicket defeat at the hands of England A last weekend.

One of Sri Lanka’s old hands, off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, is preparing for a new experience at Lord’s. Muralitharan will play his first Test at the home of cricket after missing the 2002 match at Lord’s with a shoulder injury.

Squads:

England: Andrew Flintoff (captain), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Alistair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones (w/k), Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Matthew Hoggard, Sajid Mahmood, Ian Bell and Jon Lewis.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Upul Tharanga, Michael Vandort, Kumar Sangakkara (w/k), Thilan Samaraweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Prasanna Jayawardene, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Malinga Bandara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Jehan Mubarak.

Source:The News