Flintoff vows to support Pietersen

Andrew Flintoff has said his time as England captain turned into "the lowest point" of his career and vowed to offer as much support to Kevin Pietersen as possible when he encounters difficult times.

Flintoff led England on-and-off for just under a year, beginning with the 2006 tour of India when Michael Vaughan suffered a recurrence of his knee problem, and cumulated in the Ashes tour the following winter.

England were whitewashed in the Test series, and although they surprisingly won the CB Series - with Flintoff again replacing Vaughan during the tournament - the 5-0 Ashes drubbing remains at the forefront of Flintoff's mind. He said when the going got tough in Australia, he felt abandoned by his team-mates and didn't want Pietersen to go through a similar experience.

"In hindsight, the captaincy was one job too many for me," Flintoff told the Mail on Sunday. "And when we were getting hammered out there, it was a lonely one as well.

"The blame was flying in all directions and a lot was assigned to me. What happened then was that self-preservation kicked in among some of the players. It was human nature, they started looking after themselves and retreated into their own groups.

"I felt isolated. It was the lowest point of my career and, having been through it, I would never let a captain I played for go through that experience."

Pietersen sailed through his early days as England captain, winning his first Test in charge and then securing a 4-0 one-day series victory over South Africa, but the recent Stanford Super Series in Antigua offered him his first look at the job when things not go to plan.

"Kevin has started brilliantly and the team have responded," Flintoff added. "But he has to be ready if things start to go wrong. Being captain of England is a great job, especially when you are winning.

"But when you are struggling, it is tough and you can't just do it from 9 am to 7 pm. It is with you all the time and it plays on you. I hope it never comes to it, but if things start to go wrong I'm going to make sure KP doesn't stand alone."