Flintoff was pulled out of the Lancashire second XI team who are playing Yorkshire today, following a similar situation yesterday (Monday) when the player was pencilled in for his cricketing comeback in a one day match against the same county.

Following tests on Monday the one day match was deemed to be too much too soon for the all rounder, who was then expected to take part in the three day match which started today.

However medical staff at the Lancashire County Club considered that Flintoff was still not ready to play in the county game believing the game would prove ‘too vigorous’ for the 32 year old.

A statement from Lancashire CC says;

“Following consultation with Andrew Flintoff, Andy Williams (Flintoff’s surgeon) and our own medical team, Lancashire County Cricket Club have today confirmed Flintoff will not be returning to competitive cricket for the remainder of the 2010 season.”

It was in August last year that the former England all rounder had a major operation on his knee, with further surgery needed in January this year.

Lancashire had hoped that Flintoff would have been ready to return for yesterday’s one day game against Yorkshire but the decision was made to withdraw him from that game believing that the three day game scheduled to start today would be a better option to ease the player back into cricket.

Flintoff who quit Test cricket in September 2009 claiming his body had told him to stop, now faces an anxious wait to return to the game, having already spent the last year out of action.

andrew flintoff - still waiting for return to cricket

As part of his rehabilitation following major surgery to his knee, Andrew Flintoff had been pencilled in to take part in a one day match for Lancashire today (Monday August 2nd), but despite his progress the 32 year old all rounder has been withdrawn from the game following medical advice from the Lancashire County medical team.

Despite not being considered ready to take part in today’s contest against Yorkshire, it is reported that Flintoff may yet start for the county side in a three day game against the White Rose second team which starts on Tuesday.

It is thought that the slower pace of the three day game will be a better option for Flintoff to start his comeback, rather than risking him in the thick of the faster one day game.

Lancashire coach Peter Moores said;

“Nothing’s happened it’s just a case of them being happy with the level of conditioning around the knee and his general body so that when he does play he’s at minimum risk of getting injured again. It’s been a long rehab so far, and what they’re making sure is that it’s not rushed. It’s got to be right. They think, at the moment, that he’s not quite ready and ruled him out of the one-dayer, because there is slightly more violent running round in a one-dayer. They’ll assess where he is for the rest of the week.”

andrew flintoff - ashes 2009 cardiff

With England in such fine form since winning the Ashes last year, the name of Andrew Flintoff has been all but forgotten, temporarily at least.

The 32 year old all rounder has spent the past few months out of the cricket headlines, continuing his rehabilitation in Dubai, but it is still unclear whether surgery will put him back on the road to recovery or end his career altogether.

On a flying visit to Manchester from his Middle East base, Flintoff was understandably cagey when questioned about his future plans.

Although he has stated in the past about his desire to become a ‘freelance’ player and pick and choose when and where he played, several months on Flintoff appears unsure as to if and when he will be back playing cricket, at any level.

He told reporters in Manchester that his first task would be to get fit enough to be considered for the Lancashire County team, but was non committal on when that might be possible, despite being on record as targeting July or August in previous reports.

Flintoff clearly has a long slog ahead of him, something that he made quite clear in Manchester, saying:

“The goals at this stage are pretty short term. I’ve got to get back running first and then get a bat in my hand and a ball and take it from there. A lot’s been said about freelance cricket, and playing here there and everywhere – and I’d like to. There’s been chat about playing for an Australian side and various things. That’s all in the future. I’ve got some hard yards ahead of me in the next few months to be in position to do any of that.”

Lets hope that ‘Freddie’ can make a full recovery, for me, as a Twenty/20 freelancer the Indian Premier League would be the ideal final destination for one of England’s all time great players.

andrew flintoff

Andrew Flintoff has revealed that he has signed a three year contract with county club Lancashire that will see him play one day cricket only for the team and allows him the flexibility to pursue a lucrative one day career around the world.

The injury prone all rounder announced his retirement from Test cricket at the end of the Ashes series this year, saying that he wanted to focus on one day cricket in the future, but he did not feature in any of the recent One Day Internationals as he has been out of action with a knee injury since August.

In a statement on Lancashire CC website Flintoff said;

“I am delighted at being able to agree a new contract which enables me to remain at Old Trafford for the next three years. I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success. I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and thats something I want to address.

I am looking forward to being around the Lancashire dressing room more now I have retired from Test cricket and this contract will also give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world, which hopefully help me develop as a player and in turn, help Lancashire and England.”

Flintoff already has a lucrative contract to feature in Twenty20 with Chennai in the Indian Premier League and hopes that when he is fully fit to play in ‘every England game except Test matches’, despite turning down a lower tier incremental contract with his country in September.

He has said that it is his goal to become the world’s best one day and Twenty20 player, fitness permitting.

In another up and down day, the Australian batsmen showed their bloody minded resilience as they dug in defiantly and chased the game. After losing two early wickets Ponting and Hussey then defied the odds with a brilliant display of first class batting, causing the nerves to jangle for England fans and players alike.

It was Andrew Flintoff’s excellent run out of Ponting that changed the balance of the game, a wonderful dead eye dick throw to smash the stumps, with Ponting in no mans land.

When Michael Clarke was also run out five minutes later for naught, England could sense the collapse. But Hussey had other ideas, batting a suberb 121 innings he refused to give up the fight as the Australian batting order came and went around him.

Hussey was finally caught by Cook of Swann at around 5.45pm, ending the game with the Australian’s trailing by 197 runs.

While I believe this series lacked the all round quality of England’s famous 2005 victory, the roller-coaster ride of ups and downs has made for some absorbing cricket.

My man of the series is England captain Andrew Strauss who has led from the front when some of his more flamboyant players have struggled. He has won his personal battle with Australia’s Ricky Ponting, who is no slouch himself in rallying the troops, and fully deserves this excellent win for England.

England’s hopes may rest once again on the fitness of Andrew Flintoff, his presence in the team really is immense and when he missed out at Headingley you could almost hear a collective groan from the England players as heads dropped all round.

England need to take a look at the Australian team and see how they have fought their own way back, by being brutal with bat and ball and believing that they could do it. Too often it appears that when England collapse it is not often just a blip, but total collapse. At Headingley there was little sign of confidence throughout the team and the result reflected that.

I believe England with Flintoff, will be a real early morning confidence booster, on which the team can build with a good start to the test.

Australia in contrast showed tremendous form, seizing the match by the scruff of the neck and but for some controversial lbw dismissals this afternoon would find themselves in the much stronger position their play deserved.

Recalled Stuart Clark bowled excellently for his 3 -18 and Peter Siddle with 5-21 saw off the tail order in spectacular fashion. England contrasted that with a dismal display at the crease, with only Alistair Cook (30) and MattPrior (37) making double figures. The other nine batsmen scoring a dismal eighteen runs between them!

England all out for 102.

Sadly both teams continued to show similar form in their reverse roles. Things did look a little promising when Steve Harmison took the wicket of Kattich at 14 for 1, but England would have to endure another 119 runs being added before capturing another scalp. By that time Australia were firmly in control with a brilliant partnership involving Ponting and Watson.

Watson was the second victim of the day, falling at 133 and then by some act of god England took two more quickly after with Australia at 151 for 4. Clarke (34) and North (7) ended the day for Australia at 196 for 4 and leading the match by 94 runs.

This is going to take something very special indeed for England to get back into the game tomorrow.

andrew flintoff

England captain Andrew Strauss has said he is optimistic that Andrew Flintoff will be passed fit to play against Australia for the fourth Ashes test at Headingley.

Flintoff came through 35 minutes of bowling today after opting out yesterday. Strauss says that Flintoff will only be chosen if they feel that he can last five days.

It is a sad situation for Flintoff whose career has been plagued by injury and is weeks from ending his International test career. I can understand why any England fan would love to see Flintoff in the team at Headingley, he remains in a class of his own with bat and ball and his infectiousness rubs off on those around him.

We have already been robbed of the spectacle of our favourite and most maverick of batsman Kevin Pietersen, losing Flintoff too would be like giving over the lead over to the Australians.

But the best the Aussies can hope for at Headingley is to bring the series to a draw, leaving the deciding fifth match at the Oval on August 20. The point I am trying to make is, would it be best for Flintoff to give his injury the best chance of healing by eliminating himself from Headingley and resting for two weeks, or risk playing and missing the final match?

Brett Lee

Lee says he is 100% fit and that he has been totally focused on his fitness regime, saying “Hopefully I’ve done everything I can to prove I am ready to go. I’m confident if I was called upon to play I would be able to get through. If it was a different injury, you might think differently. But the way I’ve felt, I’ve done the preparation and it’s been a minor setback. Hopefully I’ve passed that, bowling eight days straight and can prove that I can stand up and am ready to go.”

There is no guarantee that Lee will be chosen to play in the fourth test, but Australia will consider it long and hard, without a doubt.

Meanwhile injury stricken Andrew Flintoff opted not to bowl in today’s practise session, choosing to swing the bat only. England say it is only a precautionary measure to ensure the all rounder does no further damage to himself.