Let me start by saying that I don’t give a monkey’s about the whole business concerning Andrew Flintoff’s drinking in Duncan Fletcher’s new book. I’m sure Freddie did things last winter that he was not proud of and that were not wise in the circumstances and Fletcher has every right to say what he wants in the book. But we’ve got a new coach in Peter Moores and I just want to concentrate on the future because I don’t like to dwell on negatives in the past.

I wouldn’t say that what went on off the field in Australia — while I was there at least, because I wasn’t picked for the one-dayers — was any different from what happened in the West Indies in 2004, when we clinched the Test series 3-0. When you’re winning, people don’t care about the negatives. When you go down 5-0, it’s different. If we had won the crucial second Test in Adelaide and perhaps lost the series 3-2, all this would have blown over by now. I haven’t spoken to Fred since the story broke — he’s a nightmare to get hold of in any case.

I see Fred has been criticised for going into the Australia dressing-room and staying there with the Aussies until midnight after our defeat on that final afternoon in Adelaide. I’ll defend him on that score. I didn’t go in personally because I was too gutted that we had lost, but different people react differently to bad results. Fred certainly wasn’t the only England player who was there till 12.

Going into the home changing-room for a beer after a Test is a long-established tradition, especially in Ashes series. The Aussies came into our dressing-room after each of the 2005 Tests in England and we did the same down there. After they had reclaimed the Ashes in Perth, I did go into their rooms, as they call them, and I think I stayed there till not far short of midnight. A good number are friends from county cricket.

On Sunday, the full England squad for the Test series in Sri Lanka get together in Loughborough. There will be a lot of nets and training, but I got plenty of overs under my belt in the nets at Headingley in the second half of last month.

It was good to have a break after the end of the season. Sarah, my wife, and I went to Greece for a fortnight, our first trip away with Ernie, who was born in May. We couldn’t travel too far on account of his age, unlike Michael Vaughan, who holidayed in Barbados, where he has bought a place. I saw him on Tuesday for the first time since September and he looks fit, healthy and very tanned.

As far as my fitness is concerned, I’m delighted to say that I’m pain-free after a frustrating summer during which I played only one and a bit Tests. The injury I had was a weird one — inflammation in the facet joints of the lower back that was hitting the nerves. Sometimes it was quite painful, but after a cortisone injection in my back — not a pleasant experience — I feel like a spring lamb. The good news is that there is nothing mechanically or structurally wrong with my back.

Under the new ECB policy, each county have their own fitness trainer, which is a big help. Before, I would have to have travelled all the way down to Loughborough to see one, but now we have our own at Headingley — two, in fact: Dean Riddle and Tom Summers. Both guys have been great for me. We also get a lot of help and expertise from Carnegie College in Leeds. With the heat and humidity in Sri Lanka so sapping, you have to make sure you arrive there as fit as you can be.

I am looking forward to working under Moores because I have not had a lot of time with him. I have always seemed to get injured when he has been in charge — last year when he managed the England A match against Pakistan, Tim Bresnan put me out of it when he trod on my hand in training.

Where Fletcher was more of a serious, technical coach who did not let his guard down very often, Peter is a lot more energetic, personable and bubbly. He can make an impact on a young England team with a bright future whose 3-2 win in the one-day series was a good achievement. That gives us an edge going into the Test series, but our chances of winning that will depend on how we play Muttiah Muralitharan, who missed the one-dayers.