'It felt like I was dropped' - Strauss

Andrew Strauss, dropped from England's touring squad to Sri Lanka, has admitted he was shattered when Andrew Flintoff was handed the captaincy ahead of him for the Ashes last year.

"Duncan Fletcher [the coach at the time] sat me down and said it was a tough call but that there were good reasons why they chose Fred [Flintoff]," Strauss told the Times. "Although I was still in the team, it felt like I was dropped. He couldn't say anything to make it better. I just tried to be as supportive as I could."

However, Strauss didn't find fault with Flintoff's behaviour as captain. "He had a lot on his plate," Strauss said. "With the responsibility of batting and bowling, perhaps the captaincy was too much. I'm not saying he wasn't equal to the task. No matter who had captained that side - Michael Vaughan, Mike Brearley or anyone - we would not have won the series [Ashes] the way we played. I'm not sure my undefeated run would have carried on for long if I was captain. "

Strauss is focused on making a comeback to England whites and is set to play for Northern Districts in New Zealand, though only for the one-day league.

"This is the first time I have had a break in a very long time and I have enjoyed spending some time away from the game. But the only way I will get my England place back is to score runs. I have to do everything I can to be in form and in the best frame of mind if England need me. A month with Northern Districts is perfect."