New Delhi, Oct. 7: Back in the land where he came off age as a bowler and a cricketer, Andrew Flintoff looked a shadow of his former, less imperious self.

The overweight lad on unsure ground had given way to the new saviour of English cricket after scintillating performances during the Ashes and on subsequent tours to India and Pakistan.

Back in charge of the English side, Flintoff looked aware of the task at hand as he fielded questions from the media ahead of the Champions Trophy, here on Saturday.

Visibly pleased at being back in English colours after an injury lay-off, Flintoff was quite excited about his team’s chances: "We have had a tough summer in ODI cricket. We have played against some strong opposition and our inexperienced side showed a lot of character and came up with fine results."

With questions inevitably revolving around his and his team’s fitness, Flintoff said: "We cannot do much about injuries. We have had quite a few captains due to the injuries but our lads have responded quite well under them. It might not have been the easiest case though.

"The way we drew the ODI series against Pakistan recently was quite amazing. Ours is a young side with a good mix of experienced players. We are looking forward to play against some top teams."

As queries regarding the Ashes cropped up time and again, Flintoff was quite clear in his views: "Our immediate concern is this present series. Yes, we are preparing for the Ashes but our target is gaining on the momentum that has been with us ever since our semi-final win against Australia during the previous Champions Trophy in England."

On captaincy, Flintoff said: "It is a challenge for me. Captaincy has brought the best out of me; be it against India or Sri Lanka. This is going to be tough challenge as there are some very good teams.

West Indies and us got into the final last time and we’ve got to go out there confident and believe we can beat other top teams as well."