England captain Flintoff and his one-day squad flew out to India on Friday ahead of their first match in the bi-annual one-day tournament against the hosts in Jaipur on October 15.

After competing in India, England will travel to Australia to defend the Ashes crown they won last year after a 16-year wait.

And the Lancashire all-rounder believes that missing most of the season with an ankle injury has only increased his appetite to make the most of his match-winning talents during a gruelling few months that will climax with the World Cup in the West Indies next year.

Flintoff said: "I've had time away from the game this season and one of the things that is motivating me is I've done all the gym work and now I'm hungry to play cricket.

"I want to get back on the pitch and play. When you are not playing you actually realise what it means to you and how much you do miss it.

"Sometimes when you are playing all the time you take it a bit for granted.

"A forced break has made me realise what it means to me and how much I want to get back out there and play."

Halfway through this season Andrew Strauss took over the captain's job from Flintoff, who had already replaced the injured Michael Vaughan, when the England star's long-standing ankle problem flared up again.

He had surgery to finally cure the injury and, although Strauss led England to a Test series win against Pakistan and also rallied the side to share the one-day series, Flintoff was handed the captaincy for the up-coming tours.

But Flintoff is happy to take advice from Strauss and has no doubts they can work well together.

He said: "I've seen Straussy a couple of times over the last week or so and spoken to him about it.

"There was a lot made of it in the media about competition for the job but that was never the case with the two of us.

"It was something which was out of our control. We couldn't influence the decision.

"Which ever way it went, I know Straussy and he will give 100 percent. He'll be someone that I will lean on from time to time, and if he had got the job I would have fallen back into line behind him."

Vaughan, who will travel to Australia in the hope of playing the final two Ashes Tests as he recovers from a knee injury, is still the team's captain-in-waiting according to the selectors.

But Flintoff is adamant he is not just keeping the seat warm for Vaughan's return.

Flintoff said: "I've been named captain for the Champions Trophy and the Ashes and I'm not looking any further than that.

"It's going to be hard and, as for long term plans, I'm not looking past the Ashes.

"I've been given the England captaincy for this trip. I'm not a stand-in, I'm taking the side out there and I'm going to captain them for this period of time.

"Later on I'm sure it's something that will get addressed over the next few months.

"I'm not sure where Michael is at with his fitness at the moment, but the sooner we get him back in England side the better because he is a class performer."

It has been suggested that the demands of captaining England may take their toll on the all-rounder's ability to produce match-winning heroics with bat and ball.

But he is confident he can cope with the pressure and still produce on the field.

"I'm sure there will be demands on me. There is a lot of responsibility that goes with the job and that is something I'm aware of," said Flintoff.