End of a cricketing saga, as Andrew Freddie calls it a day
One of the brightest talents to have graced the game, Andrew Freddie Flintoff has called it a day after enduring an injury-plagued career that promised so much more than 79 tests and 141 One-Day-Internationals.
The dynamic all-rounder from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lancashire-c806 was one of the stars of the greatest modern triumph of English cricket the 2005 Ashes series in England, where he performed outstandingly with both ball and bat, in what is touted as the best-ever
test series of all time.
He started his career in the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 in 1998; a series that was plagued by horrendous umpiring decisions as the hosts prevailed over the Proteas in a tense contest.
Few months later, he made his ODI debut against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Sharjah and gradually transformed himself into one of the leading all-rounders in the game with his big hitting and fast hostile bowling that used to catch batsmen off-guard, especially
through the bounce that he extracted of the good length area.
He made the announcement to the English media citing fitness concerns that he felt were too hard to overcome for him at his age.
"It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am today announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket," said Flintoff. "The decision to end my career came yesterday after consultation with medical advisers. I was told that the
problems I have been trying to overcome in rehab for the last year following the latest in a series of operations would not recover sufficiently to allow me a comeback.
He added that he consulted doctors who had worked closely with him in the last few months, and he admitted that after wholehearted effort, he realized that his body did not have it to last any format of the game.
“Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigours of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire," he added. "I would like to thank my family, Lancashire Cricket Club, England, all my sponsors, friends and advisers
for all the help and support they have given me throughout my career.”
"Last, but by no means least, I am indebted to the encouragement and support I have always received from England's magnificent supporters. I will now be taking a break before deciding which future direction to take."
Flintoff would be remembered best for his ability to perform under intense pressure. He was known to turn the tables, at any given time, in any format of the game.
He was blessed with an incredible appeal and an aura that went beyond the field, he is revered as a sporting icon in England, which in itself is a big achievement considering that cricket is not the number one sport there, and footballers
generally get all the accolades for their achievements often at the expense of the cricketers.
Flintoff amassed a total of 3845 runs in the longest format of the game with a total of 5 centuries and 26 half centuries, he also claimed 226 wickets at an average of 32 runs per wicket.
In ODI format Freddie scored 5624 runs at an average of 32 runs per innings, he captured 169 wickets at 24 runs per wicket, which is an outstanding return for an all-rounder.
He was arguably the best all-rounder in England after Ian Botham, yet his bleakest moment was the 2006 Ashes series where he led his team to an ignominious five-nil defeat at the hands of old enemy http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, which he hails as the worst
moment of an otherwise outstanding test career.
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