Flintoff dismisses fitness critics

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff insisted in a press report in London on Tuesday he had done "everything asked of me" in a bid to regain match fitness and play an active part in the ongoing tour of Australia.

Flintoff, 25 on Friday, has spent the first three Tests, apart from occasional spells as a substitute fielder, watching from the sidelines.

In the meantime Australia has retained the Ashes for an eighth successive series with a trio of crushing victories, leaving Steve Waugh's men an unbeatable 3-0 up in the five match campaign.

The England selectors' decision to pick Flintoff, who had a double hernia operation in August, has been severely criticised and so too has the medical advice upon which they acted.

But Flintoff too has taken plenty of flak, with reports from within the England camp indicating that he has not stuck to his training regime.

However, the only member of the England hierarchy to publicly question the Lancashire star's discipline is outgoing England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Ian MacLaurin.

"I think he was doing things during his recuperation that he probably shouldn't have," MacLaurin, who steps down in January, said of Flintoff in a recent interview.

But Flintoff, whose ability to keep his lanky frame in shape has been criticised in the past, insisted he had not shirked any part of his fitness programme.

"I've done everything that has been asked of me, yet the injury is taking longer to heal than anybody thought," he told today's edition of The Sun. "It is very frustrating."

But Flintoff said he would not let the injury or his critics deflect from his aim of making a full recovery. "There are a lot of comments flying around at the moment. But my aim is just to get fit and be able to play at 100 percent again."