Will Flintoff's return to England make difference to Ashes?
The most-awaited series of the year, the Ashes, is still over four months away but the excitement has already started to build up. And why shouldn’t it? There is no better sight in cricket than when Australia and England fight it out for the prestigious Ashes urn. Or should we say, there's no better sight than when England and Australia are evenly matched- a rare sight over the past decades.
It only gets better when you realise that on all of the last three occasions that the tournament was played, the urn had changed hands. England has won two of these three series and Australia won it in 2006-07. Prior to that Australia had been making a mockery of English cricketing prowess, winning every tournament from 1989 to 2003.
And as if that excitement was not enough, all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has already begun preparations to make a comeback to his county side, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lancashire-c806. He had been lying low with an injury, and retired from Test cricket, but what is to say that he will not want to play in the Ashes, one last time before finally calling it quits?
The mighty England all-rounder last played a Test match for England in August 2009.
When it comes to the Ashes, there is no better player than Flintoff for England. Be it batting or bowling, he has always wanted to be at his best and win the Ashes for his team. Although his statistics say that he is capable of picking a wicket only after every conceding 33 runs, he is much more threatening than that.
Flintoff could also contribute with the bat in crucial circumstances.
With an average of about 32 runs, Flintoff has played some invaluable innings, which have taken the game away from the Australians in previous Ashes. With the help of his remarkable performance in the second Test of the 2005 Ashes Test series, England won the game by two runs. This had laid the foundation of an Ashes win in that series.
He might not have the most impressive numbers. But there cannot be too much doubt that he inspires his team to perform much better. Having been a captain for the England team, Flintoff’s presence in the dressing room has always been a big motivator.
Opposition wicket keeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 went on to say that England need to have an aura like that of Flintoff in order to be threatening enough to win the Ashes in Australia.
But a year has passed since Flintoff retired from Test cricket following a side strain injury. And after the initial shenanigans, England has moved on from there. Even after Flintoff retired, England has not lost a single Test series. The likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad have performed well and have cemented their place in the England side. England has also found true gems in Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott for managing the middle order.
From the start of 2009, England has won nine Test matches, drawn eight test matches and lost the remaining three games to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757. Looking at these recent results, England has performed really well, thanks to a consistent line-up. All the players in the side have been given enough opportunities to prove their worth and they have surely grabbed on to this with both hands.
Barring injury issues, England have maintained this winning combination over the last one year and has achieved great success, not just in Test matches, but also in ODIs and the recently concluded Twenty20 World Cup. England captain Andrew Strauss seems very satisfied with the way that things have been going on so far for England.
With the recent series victory over Australia in the ODI format, England will surely have the upper hand when they go to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 for the Ashes in November. Under such circumstances, it will be interesting to see whether a fit Flintoff's presence will assist the side, or make it difficult for the coach to break a set-combination. Will it prove beneficial for England or go against them?
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