Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, England’s most charismatic all-rounder since Sir Ian Botham, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket this past week after it became clear that his damaged knee would never again hold up to the rigours of competitive cricket.
For fans of Flintoff and cricket in general it was a sad day. Despite the fact the timing of his announcement was met with cynical derision by certain people (Charlie Sale for one!), I choose to focus on the positives. First of all, we’ll not see Freddie struggle to make comeback after comeback only to break down and suffer bitter disappointment. For me, he’s made the right decision, for him and us as cricket fans.
We can now focus on the good he did in the game – and the bad he did off the wicket too, if we’re to be fair and balanced. So I’m going to pick five ‘highlights’ from his career that I remember fondly, starting with that last Ashes competition in 2009.
On the last day of the fifth Test at the Oval Australia captain Ricky Ponting was proving his usual stubborn self with the bat. Australia were still in with a shout of winning the match and the Ashes. Right up until Flintoff ran him out with a superb throw of the ball on 66. It was right that a moment of inspiration from Freddie contributed to vitory and ultimately, England winning the Ashes.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvh-rh3S7hM[/youtube]
Of course, it was the Ashes in 2005 that made Flintoff a real England hero, especially when he bowled a sensational over – often described as the greatest over ever – that took the wickets of Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting. There’s no way to describe it that does it justice, so just watch it.
Genius. But what makes Freddie as popular as he is is not just his cricket, it’s his personality. Fun-loving, entertaining and occasionally fallible, he appears to be one of us. Speaking of entertaining, check out this sledging during a Test against the West Indies and especially that of batsmen Tino Best – he basically talks him into giving up his wicket! “Mind the windows, Tino!”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1NFbVx0uN8[/youtube]
Back to the cricket though, and his first hat trick. Again, it’s the West Indies on the receiving end as they chase 49 from 29 balls in a one day international in 2009. Freddie gets hit for four and then goes on a rampage. Bowled, LBW, bowled. Lovely stuff.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftjRR6j6C98[/youtube]
You can’t talk about Flintoff without mentioning his drunken behaviour. He’d probably prefer I didn’t, but it was one of those things that made us like him, made us feel like he was one of us. Who wouldn’t go get smashed after winning the Ashes for example? Alright, we might not all go out and steal a pedalo in St Lucia, but hey, that’s Freddie! That picture of him celebrating in the dressing room in 2005 with a cigar sums him up.
Finally, an iconic image from the 2005 Ashes again that showed the softer side of Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff. Australia lose the Test at Edgbaston by just two runs and as the England team and fans celebrate deliriously Flintoff ambles over to console a distraught Brett Lee. Lee, who had just scored a gutsy 43, was down on his haunches. Flintoff sank down next to him and shook his hand. It was, frankly, a beautiful moment.
There are hundreds more moments from Flintoff’s career that could have made this article. It was pretty difficult picking my favourite five and looking around the net I see that several others have chosen much the same, mostly relating to the Ashes series of 2005 and 2009. And why not? Freddie was “Mr Ashes” as well as an England superstar.
When people look back through the record books Flintoff’s stats will not put him up there with the very best all-rounders to be honest – an average of 32 with the bat and 33 with the ball in Tests is not all that brilliant – but Flintoff is more than just a cricketer. He’s a character and I hope the rumours of him forging a television career are true.
Personally, I’d love to see him commentating alongside Botham or Boycott. Either would be a dream team for me. For now, though, I’ll just wish Freddie all the best for the future and thank him for the memories. Cheers, fella, here’s to you.
