Cricket: Flintoff's Will is Lancashire's Gain

Lancashire will be the likely beneficiaries of Andrew Flintoff's determination to "hit the ground running" when England launch their attempt to regain the Ashes in July.

The all-rounder yesterday ruled out any attempt to protect him after an ankle operation to ensure his fitness for the second half of the summer, saying: "I want to get back playing as soon as I can."

That may mean an appearance in county cricket as a specialist batsman as early as next month as the 27-year-old aims to repeat the formula that worked so well two years ago.

"That was the turning point for me," Flintoff reflected of a season when a beamer from Sajid Mahmood hit him on the shoulder and forced him to play as a batsman. "I found my game and by the time the England games against South Africa came around I was a lot more confident. It would be great if I could get the same results. Hopefully I'll go into the Ashes in good form and hit the ground running."

Flintoff's rehabilitation is well ahead of schedule, as he showed by hitting 119 off 99 balls in a practice match at Old Trafford this week. "I wasn't running between the wickets 100%, just trying to look after myself a bit, and I didn't field," he explained. "But it was very encouraging having got some time in the middle. I managed to get a few, and the ankle felt fine.

"On Sunday it will have been nine weeks since the operation and it's coming on well. I've been working with Dave Roberts [the England physio] every day, with a lot of early mornings, trying to keep my general fitness level good as well as working the ankle on my left leg. Bowling wise, I've done a couple of run-throughs."

Muttiah Muralitharan described his own chances of playing in Lancashire's four-day match against Somerset on Wednesday as "50-50" following a shoulder operation but Glen Chapple will almost certainly be out after breaking a bone in a hand last week.

MCC, meanwhile, is to invest almost £1.2m over three years in six university centres of excellence. Cambridge, Cardiff/ Glamorgan, Durham, Leeds/ Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford will all receive £65,000 a year.