Andrew Flintoff admits he found being England captain a struggle.

The Lancashire all-rounder first skippered England in India in 2006 when he stepped into the breach because neither Michael Vaughan nor Marcus Trescothick were available. The 31-year-old then led England on their disappointing 2006/07 Ashes tour when they went down to a thumping 5-0 defeat.

Flintoff was then stripped of his vice-captaincy at the 2007 World Cup after a drunken incident involving a pedalo. However, he acknowledges now he took too much on and told The Guardian: "The hard part is going back to your room at night and trying to switch off."

He added: "As a player I can do that; as the captain I couldn't.

"And having to bat and having to bowl and do the captain's job...that was just a bit too much."