Flintoff rejects England contract

Well, I dont know what was in Freddie's mind when he made this decision. One thing is for sure, England would be weak without him. I don't think they have an allrounder of similar quality with them right now. Flintoff is the only cricketer in world cricket that I have not seen struggling with line or length or being hammered by oppositions in recent times, he has been the most dominent figure in England's bowling dept and no one really goes after him.

I have seen bowlers like McGrath and Lee being hammered, treated like sh*t and shown no respect, but it was different with Fred. A man who can bowl yorkers at will, has a great heavy ball and is a real storehouse of energy. No matter, how badly injured or tired he is during a game, he would give more than 100% everytime he bowls. England team would never be the same again. Check out their current oneday performance, without Freddie and KP, they are really struggling.
Broad does show some good potential for an all rounder however not in the same league as Freddie at least in terms of bowling :(

Please put some paragraphs into your post's, otherwise it's just a bulk or writing and it's horrible to read.

You've basically conceeded that Flintoff no longer wants to play for England, which clearly isn't case. Just cos he doesn't have a contract doesn't mean he can't play for them.
 
Can you name a bowler in England who's as good in One Day cricket as Flintoff?
I actually don't think that matters. If you think a player doesn't have the motivation or commitment then you shouldn't pick him. You move on and build your team around people who do show the commitment. He'll eventually retire anyway and he's been in and out of the side for ages now anyway so why not take this decision as a good point to draw a line under it and move on. If you need him because of injuries and he's free then play him (as long as he's proved he is still good enough).
 
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Guys, I know you love Fred, but please don't, we've been here before and you know how it works on here. :)
 
Guys, I know you love Fred, but please don't, we've been here before and you know how it works on here. :)
Yeah, we've been here before and realized that hes just a poor man's Botham and that Shane Watson is infact a better all-rounder.
 
Flintoff to help coach UAE | England Cricket News | Cricinfo.com

"A partnership has been agreed to use their gym and facilities as a base for his rehabilitation," Chandler said. "I believe he will be one of the first people to use them. In return he will be carrying out some coaching for the UAE national team over the next six months. There's been good growth in UAE cricket in the last few years and Andrew felt that he wanted to give something back."
 
LOL what is he going to coach them on? Hopefully its not how to safely operate a pedolo.
 
Honestly, If I were Freddie, I don't think I'd have signed that incremental contract.

He has been a great servant of English cricket for a long time now. But he's decided he doesn't want to play international cricket anymore (for whatever reason). So taking for granted he won't ever be offered a full central contract why bother with the incremental contract. It's not worth much money at all (A fair bit less than even I earn. Although with his Lancashire contract it takes it a way past what I earn). He's better off without it, as long as he is fine with not being able to just turn up and play for England if and when he wants to.

Thing is, you don't also get match fees on top of that. Or a six figure Lancashire contract, or several sponsorship deals. ;)

On it's own, a ?30k contract isn't much. Match fees have increased expontentially from the horrific time when they were awful for cricketers. Along with all his other earnings, he's still going to be raking in a minimum of ?250k per year. ?30k is still a fair chunk, not as though he needs it. Who he is pretty much guarantees success after cricket too.
 
Looks like he should just retire now and end on a high than put him through the possibility of more injuries.
 

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