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.

stuart broad

England fast bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson have snubbed the lure of the Indian Premier League and it’s riches to concentrate on their respective England Test match careers, and the upcoming back to back series against Bangladesh and Pakistan in 2010.

23 year old Broad and Anderson 27, were widely expected to cash in on their Ashes win this year by playing in next seasons Indian Premier League, but good news for England is that the pair will instead focus their energies on their international careers.

Both players have suggested that they would be interested in joining the IPL, should the opportunity arise in the future. Broad said;

“It was a hard decision – the IPL is a hugely exciting prospect and it’s something I would love to play in at some stage, especially leading up to the 2010 World Twenty20. I have four Tests in South Africa that will be hard work. At 23, I should give my body a break whenever I can. A three-week break after a hard winter’s touring will be better used resting my body.”

Broad also revealed that his agent had spoken to a few IPL teams and says that there is definitely plenty of money around, but he will be sticking by his decision for now.

Anderson also has concerns over keeping his body fit and is already looking ahead to the Ashes series in Australia next winter, he said;

“I am proud to be playing cricket for England and my international career is more important than anything which is why I have decided not to compete in the IPL in 2010. Taking on Australia next winter is going to be a huge challenge and one that I am fully committed to. I want to be an integral part of the first England cricket team to retain the Ashes since 1972 and I will be giving myself the best possible chance of achieving that by not playing in the IPL.”

England all rounder Andrew Flintoff picked up his knee injury while playing in the IPL last year and Kevin Pietersen is believed to have aggravated his Achilles problem while training with Bangalore Royal Challengers, a claim that the player has vehemently denied.

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.

But reading recent cricket news concerns have been raised as to the importance young and emerging cricketers may now place on playing Twenty20 style cricket, which lends itself to fast, furious, slogging over the more  sophisticated tactical awareness of defend and attack batting necessary for traditional Test Match cricket.

Twenty20 is exciting, fast-paced and for that alone is very popular, but more importantly easier to watch as a spectator or armchair fanatic as it has condensed the game of cricket into a few hours.  It has even spawned free Fantasy Cricket IPL games.

Until Twenty20 and the IPL, cricket had not changed and was very much steeped in tradition.  Apart from the late 1970’s when Kerry Packer attempted a similar league in Australia has the ECB (England Cricket Board) and others faced such a threat to the importance of test match cricket.  And there lies the issue.  Traditionalists and the ECB don’t want to lose control to a new version of the game of cricket.

Yesterday former Yorkshire and England cricket legend, Geoffrey Boycott firmly argued that players could not switch from Twenty20 to Test Match cricket without consequences.  He argued there was nothing wrong with cricketers playing both but the styles are so different for a batsman that there would be repercussions for the England cricket team.

But England’s Ravi Bopara, who has only just returned from playing for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL appears to be silencing such a view by making 118 not out after his century helped England to 289-7 on day one of the 1st Test Match against West Indies.

But even then Boycott and BBC commentator Jonathan Agnew suggested there were lapses of concentration from Bopara towards the end of the day which they agreed was possibly due to the different mentality of Twenty20 and Test Match cricket batting styles.

England showed a staggering display of self capitulation; and after their embarrassing defeat members of the England team stood alone on the balcony of the dressing rooms.  Did this signify there is still a rift in the England team?

Surely, after such a humiliating loss, the England players should be discussing the defeat as a team behind close doors, not as Jonathan Ledger of Radio Five Live suggested, openly showing the continuing rift amongst the players.

West Indies bowled England all out for just 51 runs with Jerome Taylor collecting five wickets for just 11 runs. Andrew Flintoff was the only England batsman to reach double figures.  Without him England would have set a new record low score, currently 45.

So what does this tell us?  It tells us that England are still in disarray after recently relinquishing the captaincy from Kevin Pietersen & sacking coach Peter Moores.  A position the ECB have yet to fill.

Maybe we can draw some comparisons between the ECB’s weak leadership & the arrogance of some of cricket players to that of the England football players & the problems surrounding poor performances before The FA appointed disciplinarian Fabio Capello as England football manager.

It seems the England cricket team has a nucleus of players that are picked whether they are performing well or not.  This has lead to a lack of competitiveness for places which in turn leads to an arrogance & inflated self-importance.

Fabio Capello stamped this out with the England football team by letting all players know publicly that previous accolades or the size of a player’s stature or wage will no longer earn him a place in the England football team.

With one eye on the Indian Premier League (IPL), Kevin Pietersen & Andrew Flintoff are about to become as wealthy as top football players; and the likes of Ian Bell & current captain Andrew Strauss have failed to perform in recent tests.  So maybe this is the right time to change the role of an England cricket coach and appoint an authoritative figurehead who is more in charge of picking the best 11 players who are hungry to play for their country.

If England were to appoint a coach with the power of a football manager to make tactical decisions, change the captain at will and generally be over and above the dressing room, England may once again start performing as a world class team and not as a group of under-performing clowns.

For now though, it is safe to say that a lot of people will be placing a test series bet on a West Indies win.

Essex all-rounder Graham Napier had the game of his life in tonight’s Twenty20 match against Sussex at Chelmsford.

Napier scored 152 not out from just 58 balls, hitting 16 sixes and 10 fours. He now holds the record for the number of sixes in a Twenty20 innings, taking the crown from Brendon McCullum. McCullum hit 13 sixes during his magnificent 158 in the opening game of the recent IPL – still (just) the highest individual Twenty20 score.

Essex made 242-3 from their 20 overs. In reply Sussex never really fired. They were all out for 114 in 16.4 overs, losing by a massive 128 runs. If you were to bet on the Ashes squad being announced today – Napier might have a chance!

Middlesex beat Kent by 6 runs at Uxbridge to leave the Southern division wide open. Elsewhere Durham beat Yorkshire to virtually seal their place in the quarter finals, and Worcester did enough to hold up Northants progress, winning by four wickets at New Road.

The PCB believes Asif is innocent, but named Sohail Khan as his replacement as they are unsure how long Asif will be detained in the Emirates. Pakistan travel to Dhaka on Friday for the tournament which also features India. Tests are being carried out to determine just what he was carrying, and the results are not expected for 3 to 4 days.

So what was in that wallet? And why was he flying from India to Pakistan via Dubai?

I’m looking forward to the explanations for this lot.

Smith picked up a hamstring injury whilst playing in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals. He missed their final triumph, having hurt himself during the semi-final against Delhi Daredevils. The tear is expected to take 4 weeks to heal, meaning he would miss the tour-opener against Somerset, but be able to play a warm-up against Middlesex before the Test series begins.

Smith scored 259 on his last visit to Lord’s in 2003, playing a big part in his side’s victory. No wonder they are desperate for him to be fit. Test series odds are much more likely to favour a win for the tourists if he is avaliable, after all.

Injuries to Kallis and Zondeki are also thought to be improving. Both players are more than likely to be available for the start of the tour on June 29th.

“I can’t see people turning their back on playing for their country,” said Cook. “If you can do both it would be great but England comes first.

“Financially it’s better to play in the IPL but life is not all about money.”

Cook is a talented, if somewhat dour, batsman.  He doesn’t make the England Twenty20 side.  It’s good to hear him put England first but he’s never going to be one of the top IPL picks in the future.

The ball was used in a 50-over match between the M.C.C. and Scotland yesterday. The idea is to find a replacement for the current white balls, which rarely last the course of an innings due to discolouration.

Apparently the ball performed well once the players had got used to it. Ex-Kent and England spinner Min Patel commented;- “the ball didn’t behave any differently, it didn’t react any differently, and if anything it was a lot easier to pick up in the deep when you’re fielding.”

Concerns still remain over the ball’s suitability for television, but it may well be here to stay. Cricket may well be going mad.