England land in Sydney to begin Ashes defence

Scene setter: Andrew Flintoff gets his bearings in Australia © Getty Images Enlarge

Andrew Flintoff's England side arrived in Australia early on Sunday morning to signal the start of the most anticipated Ashes series in history. The squad landed in Sydney after almost 24 hours of flying and Flintoff said it was a relief to be in Australia after the hype of the lead-up.

"To finally arrive in Australia, myself and the team are very excited, it's going to be huge,'' Flintoff told AAP. "It's going to be a fantastic series and one we want to get under way and stop the hype and just play. It's going to be a tough winter, but hopefully one of the most enjoyable we've had.''

Flintoff, who is recovering from ankle surgery, plans a heavy schedule of net bowling to get to 100% before the first Test in Brisbane on November 23. "I can bowl in the warm-up games and I'm in pretty good nick," he said, "so I'm pleased with where I'm at at the moment, so it's going to be a good series.''

Flintoff is one of only five England players to have Test experience in Australia after his selection in last year's Super Series, but he has never played an Ashes match in the country. Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison, Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard were all part of the loss in 2002-03.

"It's a young side which is looking to impress and looking to perform,'' he said. "Everything asked of them so far they've performed well in, so I'm expecting this winter to be no different.'' The first match of the tour is against the Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on Friday.