Andrew Flintoff

[Cricketics]

Good chance for Prior and Broad (or possibly Rashid' date=' who can bat) to be groomed in the 6 and 7 slots respectively as well.[/quote'] moreover, plalyers like Harmison or any other bowler would feel that now they have a chance of getting picked the best English bowler has announced his retirement

[Sachinism]

Angus Fraser, "Flintoff gives his 100% in whatever he does, whether its batting, bowling or a night out" :hysterical:

[Dravid]

legend. was bowling at 95 mph, and he is suppose to have a knee injury remarkable stuff...good he is still gonna be playing in odis... the dude has bowled some amazing bowling spells full of energy in tests...

[zubinpepsi]

Andrew Flintoff Watta Man.. Take a bow...:hatsoff: bowled continuously today inspite of the injury scare .. wats amazing is he bowled consistently 90+ and bowled damn well.. that was one hella inspiring long spell... wish we had such a bowler who can keep going at the bastmen relentlessly.....

[rahuliverpool]

He has been immense. Ashes, it just brings the best out of him. Excellent hostile bowling today!! I hope he continues this form in the next 3 matches and England regain the Ashes. :hatsoff:

[DomainK]

I was taking a nap and missed everything. But happy that Freddie put the lid on the garbage can.

[Mamu]

He is the best. Unfortunately his numbers dont reflect how great he has been. I still remember when he burst on to the scene -- and English Media went gaga about him and I was like -- "Typical English Media -- All Hype". But over the years I have changed my opinion and have tremendous respect for this dude. After all an allrouner in this hectic cricketing world is a rare commodity and he does an admirable job

[The Outsider]

Amazing cricketer - called overrated by people who only look at statistics, but his contribution and performances have come at the biggest stages against the best. The way he took on the mantle on himself during England's tour of India to win the Mumbai test showed the level of performances he is capable of putting in when he is fit. Could he have worked harder to work on his fitness? Perhaps, but these kind of questions don't have any easy answers because the toll on a bowling allrounder and best bowler of an average side is not something we can easily understand sitting on the sidelines. World cricket is going to be poorer after the Ashes. Hope he can remain fit for the entire series and replicate what he did today on a pretty docile pitch.

[rahuliverpool]

Amazing cricketer - called overrated by people who only look at statistics' date=' but his contribution and performances have come at the biggest stages against the best. The way he took on the mantle on himself during England's tour of India to win the Mumbai test showed the level of performances he is capable of putting in when he is fit. Could he have worked harder to work on his fitness? Perhaps, but these kind of questions don't have any easy answers because the toll on a bowling allrounder and best bowler of an average side is not something we can easily understand sitting on the sidelines. World cricket is going to be poorer after the Ashes. Hope he can remain fit for the entire series and replicate what he did today on a pretty docile pitch.[/quote'] Well said, Shwetabh :two_thumbs_up: He truly is an excellent cricketer. Injuries have hampered what otherwise could have been an even more glorious career.

[Guest Hiten.]

Without Freddie, English side will be less entertaining to watch and perhaps more susceptible. Freddie brings in the oomph and carries the load on his shoulders. Shwetabh, you mentioned a perfect game to calibrate Freddie's dedication. I am still amazed at the fact that a depleted English side who lost Ashes heroes due to injuries during their subcontinental tour, who got quite a thrashing in Pakistan (2-0) managed to draw the series by winning the Mumbai game. Difference between India and England during that tour was a paceman who can bowl fiery spells day in and out.

[The Outsider]

Without Freddie' date=' English side will be less entertaining to watch and perhaps more susceptible. Freddie brings in the oomph and carries the load on his shoulders. Shwetabh, you mentioned a perfect game to calibrate Freddie's dedication. I am still amazed at the fact that a depleted English side who lost Ashes heroes due to injuries during their subcontinental tour, who got quite a thrashing in Pakistan (2-0) managed to draw the series by winning the Mumbai game. Difference between India and England during that tour was a paceman who can bowl fiery spells day in and out.[/quote'] His bowling in that match was superb, specially on the last day. People generally talk about Udal in that innings, but he picked up the tail and the hard work was done by Anderson and Flintoff. He bowled an absolute beauty to get rid of Dravid, but it was his batting in the second innings that was a revelation. England's lead was only around the 200 mark when they were in the middle of a collapse and had lost half their side and it was quite possible for them to be bowled out almost immediately because the Indian spinners were really on song. But the way he knuckled down to score a 50 - possibly his slowest by far - showed a different aspect of his game. That passage of play completely shifted the momentum back to England. With a just concluded buoyant bowling performance, I would have backed India to score 225 or so.

[hari504504]

Flintoff ..my favorite player after Tendulkar !.. Everyone should take a cue from this on how to retire gracefully..

[Bradman99]

England are going to suffer a lot as a side with the loss of Flintoff. Not only is he a terrific player, he is a good example for the game, I personally love the way he goes about things on the field, he gets into it and gets the crowd into it as well. He has a bit of fun, which you like to see in such a long match. Shame he is retiring so early.

[Lurker]

Stuff that (English) dreams are made of. Could not have thought of a better swansong. Freddie is a good player. Like most fans I do get miffed at the way English media blows him up but as a player he is quite alright. His best performances have come in the Ashes, which assumes double importance because Australia are pretty formidable sight. Plus anyone who can belt 90 mph consistently is always a sight to watch. By the by an Indian connection here. Freddie blames(pleasantly) his massive girth mostly due to the regular evening takeouts of Indian curry and beer during county days. Probably the biggest thing Duncan Fletcher did for England was to whip Freddie in shape. If you think he looks big now you should check his 2003 era pictures.

[Cricketics]

Just like how a random student in school class needs a good tutor to fix his math so that he can be able to compete with his peers, English team needs assistance of Flintoff to lift themself up and compete with the world teams. They would massively miss this Giant

[fineleg]

During big matches Freddie is the King of England cricket. What a playah! He brings so much to the table in crunch situations.

[Mr. Wicket]

His bowling's been freaking amazing the last few years - was watching some hls from the ODIs we played against England at home in 01/02 and the old Flintoff is almost unrecognizable in contrast to what we're seeing here. He really ought to reconsider retiring. Even if it means going down the order and playing as a specialist quick.

[DomainK]

His retirement is a huge loss for a fan. I wish he was fitter.

[Mr. Wicket]

Lurker made this point some time back in another thread of mine. I'd posted about Cairns and Flintoff and their similarities in records and the frequency of injuries - and it's shocking how many other 'all-rounders' in this day and age have struggled with some fitness issues or the other - Irfan, Dwayne Bravo, Cairns, Flintoff, Styris, Oram, etc. Lurker pointed out how on the other hand, Kapil went through over a hundred tests not missing a single one due to injury (and only missing one due to nonselection). That too after bowling on flat Indian tracks for a good period of time too. Different era then, but for a player to last that long and play through that length of time is just amazing.

[Mr. Wicket]

During big matches Freddie is the King of England cricket. What a playah! He brings so much to the table in crunch situations.

Will be interesting to see if he can translate that skill to the shorter form with his new focus on ODIs. He's one of the true big-match players - big occasion, huge crowd, must-perform situation and he often rises to the occasion. If he can start doing that in ODIs England could become a pretty good team in that format.