Flintoff eager to make Chennai cut
Andrew Flintoff is hoping he can show Chennai Super Kings what they missed out on last year after being named in their preliminary squad for the forthcoming Champions League Twenty20.
The all-rounder has not played a competitive match since the final match of the Ashes last summer after battling a chronic knee complaint and missed the entirety of the Indian Premier League's third edition. As such, the Super Kings have not seen much of a man whose services they secured in 2009 with a record bid of US Dollars 1.55million.
But having worked hard to regain fitness in a bid to play again for Lancashire, Chennai and - if form and selection policy allows - England's limited-overs side, Flintoff has been named in the franchise's initial squad. "I spoke to the Chennai coach Stephen Fleming about a week and a half ago, told him where I was at with my fitness and that I would love to represent Chennai again," Flintoff told Press Association Sport.
Flintoff added: "I only got a chance to do that in three games last time I was there, so the Champions League is a possibility. Hopefully I'll make the cut now."
Although a place at the glitzy Champions League would provide Flintoff with the ideal stage to prove he can still cut it against some of the world's best players, his immediate focus is on entirely less glamourous fixtures.
"I'm hoping I'll be playing again in the next two weeks," he said,
"Lancashire seconds is an option and everyone has been talking about me playing for my old club side St Anne's, which I'm not averse to either.
"The Champions League is massive but my main incentive now to get out and play for Lancashire. I have to get out on the field for to put myself in position to represent Chennai.
"I've not played a game of cricket since last September and the thought of playing cricket again for Lancashire, a club which I've been at since I was nine, is massive for me.
"I'm not getting ahead of myself. I just want to get on the cricket field for Lancashire seconds, make sure I'm right and playing well and then everything else - Chennai, England, can take care of itself."
