Flintoff puts faith in English pride

Captain Andrew Flintoff insisted the England squad are united in their determination to avoid an Ashes whitewash after suffering another humiliating innings and 99-run defeat in the fourth Test.

Flintoff's side could become only the second England team in history, following the 1920-21 side, to lose a series 5-0 to Australia if a desperate run of defeats continues in Sydney next week.

But despite their battering at the MCG, Flintoff stressed: "There is still a lot of character and pride in the side, and it's not nice when that's questioned. I will stand up for myself and the rest of the lads in that respect."

He added: "Within our dressing room is a great spirit and that's been there for a long time now. It's not been dented.

"Although we've had the disappointment of losing games of cricket, it's still the same characters, the same people in the dressing room and the same fantastic blend of people. That's not changed.

"We all feed off each other from the backroom staff to the physio and the players, and we're all going to have to rally around together and play our part in lifting every single one of us for this last game in the series."