England captain Andrew Strauss has said today that he is confident that England can win when the Ashes series kicks off in Cardiff.

England will delay naming their starting XI until the morning but we know that Ian Bell will not feature as he has already been released to enable him to play for Warwickshire.

Flintoff, who appears to be coming back into form at just the right time, will be looking to avenge the 2007 Ashes Whitewash in Australia for which he was captain and to recapture the Ashes for England as they did last time at home in 2005.

Flintoff who is disappointed that he didn’t get to be part of the recent Twenty20 World Cup said that all during his rehabilitation from his knee injury that the thought of playing in another Ashes series gave him the determination to bounce back.

Strauss believes that if England are to go on to win the Ashes then it is essential to get off to a good start by winning the first test being held at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff for the first time.

Unlike Australia, who lost Brett Lee to injury, England have a clean bill of health going into the match and Strauss is confident that England have the capability of coming out winners both of the first test and the series.