"Fred is very keen to buy into what we are doing with the side," said Strauss. "Team spirit and team unity is vitally important for us. From my conversations with Fred he is very keen to play a full part in that.
"I've got no worries about him being part of the side. I think he has got plenty of points to prove this summer and that excites me.
"He is desperately keen to come in and do well. He has trained really hard - you just have to look at his body shape to know that he's put in a hell of a lot of hard work. And he's desperate to do well in the Ashes."
Presumably, all of the above tributes apply to every England cricketer bursting to play in next week's opening Ashes Test at Cardiff. Yet Strauss admitted Flintoff is not alone in having been disciplined for bad timekeeping.
"There have been a few instances recently," admitted Strauss. "A lot of it is maybe not putting enough thought into how important it is for things to start on time, for buses to leave on time and that sort of stuff.
"I think the players understand we don't want to see any more of it."
Whatever happens this week England fans will be hoping Flintoff batters the Aussies as he did in 2005. "Fred is always under pressure when he comes back and I feel for him in that respect," said Strauss. "He's made out to be the saviour of English cricket and I would like to take the pressure off him."
