Australia targeted England captain Andrew Flintoff and got to him during the Ashes whitewash, according to teammate Kevin Pietersen.

England batsman Pietersen said the Australians used the burden of Flintoff's captaincy to great effect on the way to their 5-0 victory.

"The Australians think if you break the captain, you break the team," Pietersen told Britain's Daily Star newspaper.

"I thought it would be different as Fred is such a good player and they respect him.

"But they got hold of him and it probably played a big part in his series."

Flintoff led England in place of the injured Michael Vaughan, who is expected to recover from a hamstring problem in time to resume as captain at the World Cup, starting next month.

England bounced back from their disappointing performance in the Test series in Australia to take out the one-day tri-series.

Pietersen said Australia feared allrounder Flintoff during the tour.

"The do fear him as a bowler and they do fear him as a batter and he showed glimpses of his best form," the paper quoted Pietersen as saying.

"I just wonder whether the burden of captaincy hindered his performances.

"He didn't show it - and he wasn't different - but there were little things.

"When you're standing at the back of your mark and you've got to bowl at 90mph and you're thinking, `Oh, I should have my first slip a bit wider,' it hinders your thought patterns."

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