The behaviour of Andrew Flintoff and Darren Gough during their pre-Ashes rehabilitation at Lilleshall is going to be investigated by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), according to a report in London's Daily Telegraph. Although an ECB spokesman refused to confirm that an investigation was underway, the newspaper claimed that a senior ECB official told them that they were looking into complaints from other residents at Lilleshall. "If this report is correct then these two cricketers did not set the standards expected of contracted England players," he said. "They were meant to get fit for the Ashes and they clearly didn't do that."

The matter was brought into the public arena last weekend when Lord MacLaurin, the outgoing ECB chairman, accused Flintoff of not taking his rehabiliation seriously enough. MacLaurin said that there had been other factors which had hampered his comeback, adding "I think he was doing things in his recuperation that he probably shouldn't have." Those comments led to Gough launching a defence of Flintoff and criticising the ECB's handling of both his and Flintoff's recovery. Gough's remarks are being investigated by Gerard Elias, the head of the ECB's disciplinary committee.

The newspaper also stated that Flintoff's behaviour at September's Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) annual dinner is under scrutiny. Again, the official line is that there is no substance in the claims, with Richard Bevan, chief executive of the PCA, insisting that there have been no complaints. But an ECB source is reported to have said that Flintoff behaved in "an appalling fashion, clearly showing he was out of control".

More worrying for the image of the game is the suggestion that the evening provided a far from healthy example of English cricketers. "The way the evening turned out certainly didn't reflect well on cricket," one guest is quoted as saying. "It's a high-profile event and some of these sponsors may not want to come back. Freddie was by no means the worst."

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