Cricket:Lancashire have issued an angry response to Michael Vaughan's criticism of Andrew Flintoff's late night World Cup antics and labelled it as a "kick in the teeth" for their leading all-rounder.
England captain Vaughan marked the squad's arrival at Old Trafford to prepare for Thursday's third npower Test against West Indies by effectively blaming Flintoff for England's limp World Cup exit.
Vaughan, speaking to the Guardian, claimed Flintoff's drunken behaviour in the aftermath of their opening match against New Zealand - which ended with him attempting to ride a pedalo in the early hours of the morning in St Lucia - badly affected England's chances of World Cup success.
But Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes has launched a stringent defence of their home-grown star, calling Vaughan's comments "appalling" and "despicable" as Flintoff begins a long programme of rehabilitation following an ankle operation on Friday.
Vaughan claimed: "You have to be honest. The Fred-alo incident did affect the team. It did affect morale. Those incidents are bound to affect team spirit."
Cumbes, though, believes Vaughan should have kept those thoughts inside the dressing room, particularly about a player who was man of the series during the 2005 Ashes series triumph, which earned the team MBE's and Vaughan an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List that year.
"I think it's completely out of order, I think it's despicable, I think it stinks against a guy (Flintoff) who has given blood for England these past three or four years," claimed Cumbes.
"He was talisman in the Ashes series in 2005. You could almost say Fred is responsible for 11 or so people getting gongs in that series, Michael Vaughan was amongst them as well.
"He went out to Australia, he was asked to captain a side, lead the bowling, lead the batting.
"This fella has given blood for England and I think it is appalling he's been treated in this fashion."
Flintoff was one of six players - Liam Plunkett, James Anderson, Paul Nixon, Ian Bell and Jon Lewis were the others - fined for drinking into the early hours of the morning following that defeat by New Zealand. He was dropped for the next match against Canada and stripped of the vice-captaincy.
He apologised for his behaviour in a press conference two days later and Cumbes said: "Fred knows he stepped out of line - everybody steps out of line from time to time, but you just get on with it.
"If you've got anything to say in a team situation - and I played team sports - you keep it in the dressing room.
"You don't blast it out across the airwaves or into newspapers, particularly if it's something like this. You help your mates, you don't shoot them down.
"There's a prime example of that at Manchester United up the road here and there are plenty of players who've played badly for Alex Ferguson over the years. The public doesn't know about it but the players certainly do."
Cumbes believes Flintoff, a close friend of Vaughan's who shares the same management company, will be hurt by the comments and has urged the England captain to mend any possible rift sooner rather than later.
Cumbes admitted: "I haven't spoken to him but knowing Fred I think he will be (hurt).
"He's recovering from his operation, he's desperate to do his best for England and this is like a kick in the teeth.
"Fred won't bear any malice because he's not that type of guy, but clearly he will be hurt by it. I think Vaughan is going to have to patch it up, he's got to talk to Fred face to face.
"Fred will give you 100 per cent every time he goes out on the field. He isn't always top of the shop, we know that...you talk about team spirit, you can't help team spirit with comments like this."
Cumbes also believes that the Old Trafford crowd, who idolise Flintoff, may even turn on Vaughan while the whole incident may persuade him to stay clear of the Test
Asked whether Vaughan may be barracked, Cumbes said: "I suspect it's possible.
"I wonder whether Fred might not come now. Under normal circumstances Fred's a team man and he'll turn up for his team, come to show his support and keep the spirit in the dressing room going. He's going to find that difficult.
England coach Peter Moores was expecting Flintoff to attend the Test at some stage and insisted Vaughan's comments had not had an impact on team morale.
He said: "I wasn't around at the time and I can only comment on what I see and at the moment we have a buzz going in the dressing room, which is fantastic.
"Unfortunately we've got Fred injured at the moment, but certainly Michael and Fred are a big part of that as senior players.
"There's no hangovers or anything like that - everyone is upbeat and going forward."