Warne warns of ruffling Flintoff

Shane Warne says Australia will have a tough battle to get under Andrew Flintoff's skin as he warned his team-mates about targeting the England captain. Australia have made a point of singling out opposition leaders during home series but Warne said they had to be careful when "picking their mark".

"There are certain players it inspires and makes them perform better," Warne told AAP during the launch of My Illustrated Career. "We tried it with Sachin Tendulkar and it didn't work. Andrew Flintoff is an inspirational type of player. It's pretty hard to get under his skin."

Troy Cooley, the Australia bowling coach, told the Sydney Morning Herald Flintoff would relish the captaincy during the Ashes summer after beating Andrew Strauss for the job despite returning from injury. "He is a real leader of men, and wears those three lions with a lot of pride," Cooley told the paper. "Others in the team can feed off that. He has the respect of all of them, and knows how to get the best out of them."

While getting under Flintoff's skin might be difficult during the five-Test series, the Australian bowler Matt Mason found it easy to pierce Warne's flesh while he was batting during a one-day game between Hampshire and Worcestershire. Warne was taken to hospital after being struck above the right eye and was concerned that he was having trouble with his vision.

"I feel a bit drowsy and have a headache," he said at the book launch. "They wanted to stitch it, because it was pretty deep ... but the solid bit of skin around the eye was shattered so they couldn't."

It was a busy couple of days for Warne, who marked his 37th birthday on Wednesday with the presentation of an honorary doctorate from Hampshire's Solent University before the game against Worcestershire. "I am officially the spin doctor now," Warne was quoted by British media. "This is a great way to celebrate my birthday. Perhaps the England boys should call me 'The Doctor' or 'The Professor'. To be honest, they will probably call me anything they like. They usually do."

However, Warne said the Australians would not tease Marcus Trescothick about his stress-related illness if he turns up for the Ashes. "I don't think Australian people will get personal like that," he said. "They are not like that. They just want to see some good cricket."