Skater
ICC Chairman
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2004
- Profile Flag
- England
As much of a hero as Andrew Flintoff is, he can barely put two matches together now without limping off injured. All those years of fast bowling (with an unhelpful technique) have cost the big fella dear and you must think retirement has crossed his mind. Now 31, his body is getting more battered and takes longer to recover with every game he plays in. So. The question we don't really want to ask ourselves. Is it nearly the time we pulled the plug on Freddie?
His golden years were between 2003 and 2005 when Flintoff averaged 40.24 with the bat (4 of his 5 Test hundreds came in this period) and 27.54 as a bowler. In ODIs in this time he averaged 44.97 with bat and, with ball, 23.88. Worth noting, too, is that he played 35 Tests and 52 ODIs in these two years.
Compare that with the time since. Three and a half years, and Freddie averages 35.70 with the bat in Tests and 28.45 with the ball. In ODIs, he averages 33.61 bat-in-hand and 24.23 with the ball. These figures come from 47 Tests and 75 ODIs - just 35 more matches but in 18 months more. The big man has been ravaged by injury.
It used to be alright, because he was England's talisman, 'Our Fred'. Now though it is becoming clear Flintoff is injured too frequently for our liking and when he does play he's not putting in the performances we have come to expect. It's not going to get any better either. At his age his body is getting weaker all the time and in these days of building teams for the future it should be something for the management to think about leaving him out once and for all.
Personally, I can see Fred retiring from Test cricket in the near future - maybe even sooner than I thought with the news he may not be fit for the 2nd Ashes Test. He would then have the problem playing for his country with no hope of winning anything and in the form of cricket the public hold in the lowest regard. It's simple fact England are not going to light up the One Day arena for the foreseeable future. So might he just retire from international cricket as a whole?
Lancashire fans might like it, but then they will be lumbered with an ageing, fragile down-in-the-dumps player who has had his best days and is now lacking motivation. A sad way to see the end of England's 21st century hero.
Is this the end of Freddie Flintoff?
His golden years were between 2003 and 2005 when Flintoff averaged 40.24 with the bat (4 of his 5 Test hundreds came in this period) and 27.54 as a bowler. In ODIs in this time he averaged 44.97 with bat and, with ball, 23.88. Worth noting, too, is that he played 35 Tests and 52 ODIs in these two years.
Compare that with the time since. Three and a half years, and Freddie averages 35.70 with the bat in Tests and 28.45 with the ball. In ODIs, he averages 33.61 bat-in-hand and 24.23 with the ball. These figures come from 47 Tests and 75 ODIs - just 35 more matches but in 18 months more. The big man has been ravaged by injury.
It used to be alright, because he was England's talisman, 'Our Fred'. Now though it is becoming clear Flintoff is injured too frequently for our liking and when he does play he's not putting in the performances we have come to expect. It's not going to get any better either. At his age his body is getting weaker all the time and in these days of building teams for the future it should be something for the management to think about leaving him out once and for all.
Personally, I can see Fred retiring from Test cricket in the near future - maybe even sooner than I thought with the news he may not be fit for the 2nd Ashes Test. He would then have the problem playing for his country with no hope of winning anything and in the form of cricket the public hold in the lowest regard. It's simple fact England are not going to light up the One Day arena for the foreseeable future. So might he just retire from international cricket as a whole?
Lancashire fans might like it, but then they will be lumbered with an ageing, fragile down-in-the-dumps player who has had his best days and is now lacking motivation. A sad way to see the end of England's 21st century hero.
Is this the end of Freddie Flintoff?