Flintoff lights fuse for explosive Ashes summer

Brett Lee, who touched 94mph, and Michael Kasprowicz only had a handful of deliveries at the Lancastrian yet still added weight to the theory that

Australia's bowlers will try to 'stick it up him' this tour.

They had better be ready to get plenty back in return.

Flintoff charged in to hit Lee on the shoulder with a bouncer that was too quick for the No8 and put lifting deliveries past the noses of

Kasprowicz and Glenn McGrath.

Twenty20 may have been the name of the game but, at worst, Flintoff finished on deuce in his opening skirmish with the Aussie fast bowlers.

"You can't be intimidated when you play Australia," Vaughan agreed. "They will have stages this summer when they are on top of us, and that's going to be the real test of our team."

If the atmosphere is anything like that at the Rose Bowl, England will feel they are playing with an extra man, courtesy of the crowd.

And, should it prove to be the case, Pietersen may become such a force in the limited-overs games that the selectors simply have to pick him for the npower First Test on 21 July.

He is a self-confessed showman and, as he demonstrated in South Africa, the bigger the part the more likely he is to succeed.

"I'm one of those who loves to play in front of a big crowd, loves being on TV and loves trying to get the best out of myself," Pietersen said.

Collingwood and Lewis presented stronger cases for the man-of-the-match award but TV viewers voted overwhelmingly for Pietersen. England supporters love him already and, at 24, he could make the affair last a long time.