Last Updated: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:50
Andrew Strauss insists that England's high-profile players are treated just the same as the rest of the side in terms of discipline.
The England captain spoke out after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) disciplined Andrew Flintoff for missing last Saturday morning's team bus to an outing in Belgium, in which players visited the trenches near Ypres to pay their respects to servicemen involved in World War I.
Strauss claimed the Lancashire all-rounder was guilty of poor time keeping and played down reports alcohol consumption the previous evening was the cause. And he also stressed that in terms of discipline, England's top players will face the same punishment as the rest of the team and rubbished claims of favouritism.
He said: "I'd like to refute that. I think that's something going forward that we don't want to see happen.
"I think if you buy into a team then you've got to buy into the fact that one person doesn't live to different rules than somebody else.
"The instances of punctuality that we've had to deal with have all been dealt with in a more than appropriate manner."
Ahead of England's Ashes warm-up match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Wednesday, Strauss also admitted he would not be afraid to drop big name players like Flintoff.
He added: "I think that's got to be an option with anyone who transgresses badly enough, but I'm absolutely certain it's not going to come to that and it would be a very sad day for English cricket if we have to do that.
"One thing I will say is it's vitally important to a team functioning properly that everyone is treated the same, that's fundamental to how I see the team functioning and we will do that going forward."