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Australians will welcome Flintoff
 Flintoff is likely to be out for three months after surgery next week. MELBOURNE, Australia -- Australian officials have welcomed the prospect of helping Andrew Flintoff, the man who spearheaded England's Ashes success last year, prove his fitness ahead of this winter's series in domestic grade cricket. Flintoff, who will captain England if he is fit for the series starting in November, is to undergo an ankle operation next week. It is expected that he will then be out for three months. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) mooted the suggestion he and fellow injury victim Ashley Giles play in South Africa or grade cricket in Australia to prove their fitness for the Ashes series. "I think there would be plenty of club cricketers relishing the opportunity to be Andrew Flintoff's team mate or, on the other hand, to play against him," Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland told reporters on Tuesday. Sutherland said there would be no need for formal contact with the ECB over Flintoff playing for an Australian club. "This really isn't an issue for us, it's down to the state associations and the clubs to arrange. There is nothing in the regulations to stop this. "It's happened before -- Paul Collingwood played cricket here in Melbourne. I know this is a different case, it being the England captain, but there's no reason why he should be treated differently." Sutherland pointed out that Australian players such as Justin Langer and Cameron White played in England and that it would be a positive step if English players had an influence on the domestic game. Flintoff was England's talisman as they regained the Ashes for the first time in 18 years during a frenetic summer in England in 2005. The Lancastrian took 24 wickets and hit 402 runs as England won the famed urn and his part in a resurgent side has helped Australian grounds sell tickets at record-breaking speed for the five-match series later this year. A Cricket Australia spokesman said the fact fans were snapping up tickets in record numbers meant it was the duty of organizers to help England make it as competitive a series as possible. "Can you imagine some 18-year-old sharing the new ball with Andrew Flintoff? What a tremendous experience that would be for a kid," the spokesman said. Plunkett blowEngland seamer Liam Plunkett has been ruled out of the next two tests against Pakistan with a left-side injury. Plunkett was injured while playing for county team Durham against West Indies A on Saturday. He was playing in the match to practise his batting, but was injured when asked to bowl. McGrath returnsAustralia paceman Glenn McGrath will demonstrate his fitness in front of selectors in Brisbane on Wednesday after six months away from competitive cricket. McGrath last played for Australia in a one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Perth at the end of January before missing the tours of South Africa and Bangladesh to spend time with his wife Jane, who is fighting cancer. She gave her blessing in June for him to return to action and the 36-year-old will bowl in front of coach John Buchanan and bowling coach Troy Cooley at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence to assess when he can return to the Australia setup. "It will be a really good opportunity for him just to get outdoors and have a bowl in front of a few of the coaches and get a little bit of assessment of where he's at," Buchanan told Australian Associated Press. "There's a whole range of options for him," Buchanan said. "There's no exact science to say if you do that then that will be the outcome but I think we'll get a program that will have him ready for the first day of the first (Ashes) Test." 
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