Greig commentated on Flintoff's first Ashes Test as captain

What are your first observations about the way Flintoff led England in the first Test?

I thought he did very well on the first day.

He bowled well and handled the captaincy in a fashion which was perfectly acceptable in the circumstances.

Let's bear in mind that the best player in the world, Ricky Ponting, was going berserk.

I don't care who you are as captain, especially if you don't have the kind of bowling attack that the West Indies had or the Australians have now, it makes it pretty tough.

The only disappointment was his approach in the second innings where I just couldn't see the logic in putting all his fielders out.

They would have been better off trying to make a bit of headway and knocking a few Australians over and that means you need to have two slips and perhaps two gullies with the new ball.

Are there any other areas of his captaincy which are a concern?

I was a little bit disappointed in the team he picked.

Monty Panesar's a better bowler than Ashley Giles and that being the case he should have picked him.

That's always the worry when you've got a coach with you on tour.

But the captain should get his way because he's the bloke out there who's feeling the heat.

Flintoff gives Harmison some advice after his woeful bowling

Flintoff is a close friend of Steve Harmison but seems to be struggling to bring the best out of him, don't you think?

I wouldn't want to be critical in respect of his handling of Harmison.

He knows Harmison better than most of us and whatever he did with him he did because he knew it was the method that worked best.

Is he right to say that the England team manages itself?

No, he's not and he should get over that. A team never manages itself and there are times when you really need to take a stance.

Is it harder leading England away from home?

It should be easier. You can make you own decisions in respect of selection and things like that but you need to get it right in the first place.

And you need to get a few breaks and get lucky with injuries and so on.

Not at all. You're better off being an all-rounder as captain. There are far too many batsmen who know nothing about bowling.

I sit with them in commentary boxes all around the world.

They've captained Test sides but they don't know what they're talking about with bowling. It's a very different pastime.

If you've had a bit of bowling experience, that actually lends itself to being a decent captain.