ANDY Flintoff believes Lancashire have a real chance of challenging Surrey for the Championship this summer - and is determined to play his part while he can.

Flintoff and James Anderson have been cleared by England to play in the massive opening game against the champions at the Oval on Friday, and also hope to be available to face Notts at Old Trafford next week.

"It's a great game to start off with," said Flintoff, looking fitter than ever after his two weeks training with Burnley FC, and revealing that he is currently on a vegetable soup diet.

"Surrey are the team everyone is trying to follow. They've won the Championship three times in four years, and they're full of top players. But we've got some good ones ourselves. I don't want to put too much pressure on because we're still a young side. But we have got more strength in depth, and if we can get off to a good start in the first two games we've got every chance this year."

Flintoff reckons the signings of Mal Loye from Northants and Iain Sutcliffe from Leicester will give Lancashire's batting a huge boost, while the emergence of Kyle Hogg, Sajid Mahmoud and of course Anderson gives them a huge range of pace bowling options.

They are set to hit Surrey with the formidable quartet of Anderson, Flintoff, Glen Chapple and Peter Martin this week, easing the disappointment of missing out on Muttiah Muralitharan as a short-term replacement for the injured Harbhajan Singh.

The Oval has been the stage for two of Flintoff's best batting performances - a murderous century in a NatWest Trophy quarter final three years ago, and another in the Championship last season, in his only four-day appearance for Lancashire of the whole summer.

It still wasn't enough to stop Surrey, with Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmoud skittling their second innings. At least Azhar won't be around this week, as he only arrives on Sunday, and as Flintoff said: "A repeat of my innings would be nice, only this time with a different result.

"I actually get more nervous playing for Lancashire than I do for England," he added. "You come back for a game here and there, and the nerves are jangling.

"I want to give something back to Lancashire, they've been very good to me over the years. I'd love to captain them one day when I'm a bit older and more mature, it is an ambition of mine. Not that I'm trying to get rid of Heggy - he's doing a great job."

Flintoff said he was feeling fit after training in the gym and with Burnley Football Club since returning from the World Cup.

"If I have more than a week off I end up like Robbie Coltrane, so it was good to go down to Burnley with Stan (Ternent) and Sam (Ellis), even though as a Preston lad I got plenty of stick."