Andrew Flintoff bids adieu to Test cricket!

Andrew bids adieu to Test cricket England’s talismanic leader Andrew Flintoff bid adieu to the game to a packed conference room but the burly all-rounder shall continue to play a key role in the Twenty20 format and in the One-dayers for England. Freddie is expected to be proved fit for the Test starting on Thursday against the Australians and shall be playing his last Test series. “Its definitely not something I have just thought of overnight, it’s been on my mind for a while regarding this series. With the knee flaring up again and getting the injections on Monday, now is a time I felt comfortable with doing it. There’s been a lot of speculation over my future for the past few weeks, so I wanted to get it out there, and concentrate on playing cricket. I’ve had four ankle operations and knee surgery, so my body is telling me things, and I’m actually starting to listen. I can’t just play games here and there while waiting to be fit. For my own sanity, and for my family’s, I’ve got to draw a line under it. I’ve been going through two years of rehab in the past four, which is not ideal,” Flintoff said. He had a very valif reason to call it quits after being troubled continuously by his knee, causing him to miss 25 of England’s last 48 Tests and even gave a scare before the start of the next. Speaking on the announcement, England captain Andrew Strauss said, “Flintoff has had a dramatic impact in English cricket over the past few years, in the style with which he’s batted, and for a long period he’s been one of the bowlers in world cricket that batters least like facing, although the figures don’t show that. And also as a personality, he’s done a huge amount for cricket in the way he’s played with a smile on his face. Test cricket will miss him, there’s no doubt about that. I’m sure he’ll go out in a style that befits his quality, with a bang,” Strauss mentioned. The ten-year itch The first time Freddie suffered from an injury was during the South African tour in 1999 when he returned with a foot injury. Just a year later in 2000, his tour to Pakistan was cut short by a back injury problem. The year 2002-03 proved disastrous for Freddie as he delayed a hernia operation during the tour of India and missed the final Test. He even missed the Ashes tour with a problem in his groin. Again in 2003, he was ruled out of the Bangladesh tour especially for the Two Test series but played his part in the one-dayers. In January 2005, returned from the Rainbow nation for an ankle injury, missing the one-dayers, but is declared for the Ashes. The year was 2006 when Freddie captains England against Sri Lanka but misses the rest of the summer because of an ankle injury. He does make it back in time for the Champions Trophy and leads his side in the Ashes. It’s the ankle trouble again for Flintoff as there is more surgery in his left ankle after the World Cup in West Indies. During the World Cup, he could barely walk and manages to be in the eye of controversy almost always. The year 2008 saw him missing the series against New Zealand. Manages to come back for the second Test at Headingley against the Proteas. The year 2009 saw him flying back from the West Indies after the third Test but joined back for the one-dayers. Again, just before the start of second Test, gave a scare to the entire England but declared himself fit, just in time. Regardless of his huge stature in the English dressing room, the 31-year-old Englishmen may not be truly called a cricketing great if he is measured by the sheer weight of runs or wickets taken. In 76 tests that he had played, Freddie made a mere 3708 runs at a modest average of 31.69 with 5 hundreds and 25 fifties. His wickets tally stood at 219 wickets with a best of 5 for 58 may not do justice to the immense potential that should have seen him perform better had he not been marred by injuries. Ever since his debut against the South Africans in 1998 at Nottingham, Flintoff was and will always remain a player par excellence by the sheer weight of power-hitting ability and the willingness to give more than 100 per cent on the field. Cheers Freddie! May we more of you in the coming years albeit in the shorter versions of cricket. Amen!