An Ashes hero but Freddie Flintoff should have been one of the greats

1/2
10 April 2012

Andrew Flintoff is one of the most talented and charismatic cricketers of the modern era but his career will be remembered as much for what he failed to accomplish as for his many achievements.

This might appear a harsh judgment for a man whose performances inspired England to win the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

Despite not being fully fit, he played a significant role when the urn was regained last summer, bowling out Australia in the second innings at Lord's and producing the throw that ran out Ricky Ponting in the final Test at The Brit Insurance Oval.

Yet for such a gifted player, the all-rounder was not at his peak for long enough. Flintoff's decision to retire from the sport today is not a surprise. He has not played cricket since the final Test against Australia last summer and a number of planned comebacks have been cancelled because of his weak knee. After speaking to his medical team yesterday, the 32-year-old decided he had "no alternative" but to retire.

Flintoff made his England debut at the age of 20 in 1998 but did not become a key figure until the home series against South Africa in 2003.

That summer Flintoff averaged 53 with the bat and scared the life out of the tourists with the ball, performances that gave him the self-belief to become the world's best all-rounder for the next two years. Flintoff excelled during the tours of West Indies in 2004 and South Africa in 2004/05, setting him up perfectly for the 2005 Ashes.

A record of 402 runs at an average of 40 and 24 wickets at 27 against the best team on the planet earned him the man-of-the-series award.

But Flintoff was never one to gloat and, in fact, showed his humility at the end of the Edgbaston Test when, after securing a dramatic two-run win, he famously consoled Australian batsman Brett Lee rather than celebrate with ecstatic team-mates.

The Ashes triumph should have been the platform for greatness but the all-rounder's fragile body ensured that it would prove a step too far.

Flintoff's menace and accuracy as a bowler meant captains could not resist the temptation to turn to him again and again. The result? Four ankle operations, back problems and a severe degeneration of the knee that ultimately caused his retirement.

After 2005, Flintoff had bursts of inspiration but he was never the same player. Indeed, when the Lancastrian celebrated that victory with epic quantities of alcohol, he seemed also to be toasting a career he knew would never reach the same heights.

Captaining England to a 5-0 whitewash in Australia in 2006/07 left him jaded and depressed. Shortly afterwards, the Fredalo' incident — when Flintoff was discovered with a pedalo in the early hours in St Lucia during England's World Cup campaign — subjected him to ridicule.

Yet instead of alienating supporters, Flintoff's boisterous demeanour on the field and off it generated an affinity with them. If team-mates did not always see eye-to-eye with him, they never failed to appreciate his importance to the English cause, as captain Andrew Strauss explained today.

"The impact he has had on English cricket has been immense," said Strauss. "It is a sad day but we would prefer to celebrate everything he has achieved as an England cricketer.

"The biggest memories I will have of him are how incredibly able he was to make something happen out of nothing. 2005 was his zenith. But he was always the ultimate impact cricketer, somebody who on so many occasions stepped up to the plate.
Freddie would put his body on the line when other bowlers were starting to struggle."

Australian cricketers are never keen to praise their England counterparts. Just ask Paul Collingwood. Yet Flintoff was one man who enjoyed universal respect among the Aussies, with Ponting calling him the best player in the world after 2005 and Justin Langer naming Flintoff as the bowler he found the most difficult to face.

This is, though, the paradox surrounding Flintoff. Batsmen across the world queued up to praise his skills but he took five wickets in an innings just three times in 79 Tests and finished his career with a bowling average of 33.

Furthermore, he could never help England win a global title.

Yes, Flintoff's consistent work at one end created numerous chances for his partners to take wickets. But Flintoff's skills meant he should have been much more than a member of the supporting cast. Two years in the lead role was far too few for such a mighty cricketer.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in