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Strauss talks up the team ethic
Andrew Strauss has denied suggestions that high-profile players within England's ranks are given special treatment.
The claims came after Andrew Flintoff was disciplined by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for missing Saturday's team bus to an outing in Belgium, in which players visited the trenches near Ypres to pay their respects to servicemen involved in World War I.
The Lancashire all-rounder later caught up with his colleagues, but it had been claimed that alcohol consumption during a team dinner the previous night was the reason why he was late.
Strauss denied that was the reason and insisted it was just down to poor time-keeping, while at the same time playing down the incident as a whole.
The England captain did reveal there had been punctuality issues with a number of players within the squad that he was keen to iron out.
But Strauss, who led England in an Ashes warm-up match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston yesterdday, was clear when it was suggested certain players are favoured.
He said: "I'd like to refute that. I think that's something going forward that we don't want to see happen.
"I think if you buy into a team then you've got to buy into the fact that one person doesn't live to different rules than somebody else.
"The instances of punctuality that we've had to deal with have all been dealt with in a more than appropriate manner."
Asked whether he would be strong enough to drop such an important player as Flintoff on disciplinary grounds, Strauss added: "I think that's got to be an option with anyone who transgresses badly enough, but I'm absolutely certain it's not going to come to that.
"It would be a very sad day for English cricket if we have to do that.
"One thing I will say is it's vitally important to a team functioning properly that everyone is treated the same, that's fundamental to how I see the team functioning and we will do that going forward."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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