England All-Rounder Andrew Flintoff out for the Whole Season
Andrew or ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, as he is known as, is one of the best all-round cricketers in England at the moment. Moving up through the ranks from an early age, he made a name for himself to become a permanent fixture in the England side. He has recently been ruled out for the rest of the 2010 season because of an injury. It seems he might miss more than that because his ankles and knees have been giving him serious trouble throughout his career. Following numerous surgeries on both ankles and knees, it looks like his playing days are over. Can the great cricketer regain his form and return to stake his claim as the greatest One-Day player in the world?
Flintoff was born into a family of cricket enthusiasts, with both father and brother obsessed with the game. As a teenager, he quickly made a name for himself being known for his hard hitting skills and fast bowling prowess. He emerged as a young talented all-rounder. He joined Lancashire as a teenager and made a name for himself at the club. He made his Test debut in 1998 for England at the age of 20 against South Africa. He started to have a few good seasons but even in his early career, he was hampered by injuries. Fixing his fitness issues saw him becoming one of the most popular players on the English side, with fans cheering his every turn out to bat and every run up to bowl. It was around 2005-2006 when injuries to his ankle and knee started to hamper his progress. They have continued to hold him back ever since.
It seems his fast bowling has been the reason for his persistent and painful knee and ankle problems. Having endured four ankle operations and two knee surgeries, it looks likely that his injuries to his leg might spell the end of this great all-rounder. He has recently been ruled out for the remainder of the 2010 season because of his fitness issues. The problem to his leg stems from the fact that almost ten times his body weight in pressure is pushed down on his leg at the point of delivery of his 85 mph deliveries. The problem for Freddie Flintoff is that he has just signed the most expensive IPL contract and is still a legend of the English team. It may be that he will have to forget one aspect of his game and concentrate on only batting. If he continues to bowl it might mean the end of his career, so it might make more sense to concentrate on simply batting. He is a pretty good batsman as well, so concentrating only on that might make him an even deadlier force on whichever team he plays on.
Flintoff quit the test game at the end of the last Ashes Series but was all set to light the One-Day game on fire. He was also a host on Sky One's League of Their Own TV show. He has recently quit that post as well to focus on his One-Day career. Freddie was hoping to lead his team into the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and hopefully win the tournament for England. The problem for Flintoff at the moment is that his injuries are holding him back; he will require rehabilitation on both his ankle and his knee well into the winter months of 2010 and will hopefully be fit in time for next year’s World Cup. At the moment, though, he will not feature in any sort of cricket, neither for England nor for his club side. It must be extremely hard for the cricket mad Flintoff to have so much time off and if he cannot get his injuries sorted, it might mean the end of his career. It would be a very premature end to what has been a spectacular showing for England and his club side.
Hopefully in the coming months, Flintoff can get his injuries sorted out and make a strong comeback into the England team for the 2011 World Cup. If not, then the England team will sorely miss the big man and both his talents of batting and fast bowling.
Tags: