KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Andrew Flintoff will undergo another tough examination of his captaincy today when he leads England in the first tri-series cricket final against Australia at the MCG.
Flintoff inherits the leadership again because Michael Vaughan is going home after aggravating a hamstring injury in Tuesday's win over New Zealand in Brisbane.
Vaughan has been advised to rest for 10 days to ensure he recovers for the World Cup, which starts in the Caribbean next month.
Vaughan's absence is a major blow for the tourists, who have found a spring in their step for the first time this summer after successive wins over Australia and New Zealand leapfrogged them into the finals.
Aside from his top order batting, England will miss Vaughan's calm leadership on the field, and it has been clear Flintoff has performed better when freed of the responsibility of leading the side.
Flintoff performed well individually in the three matches this series where he did not have to lead the side, and England won two of those clashes.
Many observers point to Flintoff's unimaginative leadership during the Ashes series as a contributing factor to England's 5-0 drubbing, as he also struggled personally.
Vaughan yesterday defended his teammate, who was given the tough job of captaining England during the test series while the usual skipper recovered after knee surgery.
"I wouldn't have liked to have gone into an Ashes series with only eight games as captain as experience, but that's what he had to do," Vaughan said.
"People have got to realise it is a tough job playing such a good side at home."
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Australia were expecting a strong showing from his opposite number.
"We know how good a competitor and how good a player he is," he said.
England will enter the match confident of causing a boilover after comprehensively beating Australia by 92 runs last Friday in Sydney, and then fighting back with the ball to beat the Kiwis.
First Final
* England v Australia.
* Melbourne, 4pm today.
- AAP
