Freddie was firmly on fence.

Freddie was firmly on fence in England row Flintoff did not side with Pietersen in spat with Moores and calls for players to perform ANDREW FLINTOFF has admitted he played the fiasco surrounding Peter Moores and Kevin Pietersen with a straight bat and did not take sides. Media reports suggested the influential Flintoff sided with captain Pietersen in his spat with coach Moores - an ugly episode which resulted in the pair losing their jobs. But the former skipper has revealed that his close relationship with Moores meant that he couldn't side with Pietersen in getting rid of Moores. As a senior member of the team, Flintoff's opinion was considered to be key as Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, investigated the falling out between captain and coach. And Flintoff said: "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. I played for Kevin as I did for Vaughany [Michael Vaughan] or Nasser [Hussain] or whoever it may be. I didn't want him to finish. I thought he could have given himself time to grow into the role. "But on the flip-side 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]." Instead Flintoff says it is the players who must take responsibility for their recent defeats and has urged cricket not to fall into the football trap. He added: "We don't want to get into the football scenario where the team gets beat and the manager gets sacked. "As players we've got everything at our disposal, we've got the coaches and we've got everything we need to perform. We've got to take some responsibility. To be fair to Mooresy the one thing he's kept is his dignity. Because he's a good man." Meanwhile, new captain Andrew Strauss admits he has been "pleasantly surprised" by Pietersen's attitude in the wake of the England captaincy debacle. Strauss was named Pietersen's replacement for the upcoming tour to the West Indies, but he insists he is in the job for the long term, which means leading Pietersen. But Strauss insists that will not be a problem as Pietersen is so focused on playing his best cricket. Strauss said: "I talked to Kevin a few times and I've been very, very pleasantly surprised by his attitude. "He clearly is very passionate about playing for England for a long period of time. He recognises that what's happened and the way things have happened is unfortunate. "He loved captaining England so I suppose not being captain will take a while to settle in." However, the new skipper is backing his big-hitter to shine in the Caribbean when the series gets under way next month. Without the burden of leading the side, Pietersen will be able to concentrate fully on playing his free-flowing game and making big scores for Strauss. And the skipper said: "I think first and foremost he's an incredible batsman and I've got no doubts whatsoever he's going to go out to the West Indies and score millions of runs and prove what a strong character he is as well. "I don't like to use the word legend but I think he will become a legend of the game."

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