Vaughan insisted that he, rather than all-rounder Flintoff, had played a major role in the team's failure to reach the semifinals in the Caribbean.

Vaughan, in an interview with Tuesday's edition of Britain's Guardian newspaper, said Flintoff's now notorious escapade, which culminated in him being found on a pedalo at 4am in the morning after their opening group match defeat against New Zealand in St Lucia, had damaged the side.

He was quoted as saying: "You have to be honest: the 'Fredalo' incident did affect the team. It did affect morale.

"I like to see players enjoy themselves but no one would dare go out after that incident -- and you can't create any spirit then."

However, Vaughan said he had never used the word "Fredalo" as he wouldn't want to single out an individual for an incident which saw six players in all disciplined for late-night drinking.

Vaughan, speaking at Old Trafford where the third Test against West Indies starts on Thursday, said he still had a good relationship with Flintoff.

"I'll be having dinner (lunch) with him in an hour's time. It (the article) has been blown out of all proportion. One word changed the whole context of the article, a word which I didn't say.

"Incredibly in the piece, it didn't mention I openly admitted that I didn't captain as well as I can, I didn't manage the situation as well as I could and I didn't play as well as I could. So if I was blaming anyone for a World Cup fiasco, I was blaming Michael Vaughan.