London, July 15: Andrew Flintoff has called a press conference at 12.30pm today, in which he will announce his retirement from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes summer, although he still intends to make himself available for Twenty20 and ODI cricket.
Flintoff, who has missed 25 of England’s last 48 Tests through a variety of injuries, suffered another fitness scare on the eve of the Lord’s Test, when he reported soreness and swelling in the same right knee that required surgery back in April, after he tore his meniscus while playing in the IPL.
“My body has told me it’s time to stop,” Flintoff told Press Association Sport. “I’ve been through four ankle operations, I had knee surgery just a couple of months ago and had three jabs in my knee on Monday just to get me right for this Test, so I took that as my body telling me that I can’t cope with the rigours of Test cricket.
“Since 2005 I’ve done two years when I’ve done nothing but rehab from one injury or another. Two of the last four years I’ve spent just in rehabilitation and I just can’t keep doing it for myself, my own sanity, my family and also for the team – because they need to move on as well. It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while and I think this last problem I’ve had with my knee has confirmed to me that the time is now right.”
Prior to England’s practice session on Wednesday morning, Flintoff gave the team talk in a sombre atmosphere, and afterwards Paul Collingwood immediately came up and shook him by the hand. “Freddie simply said that these four Tests would be his last in Test cricket,” a team insider told Cricinfo.
The knee injury that threatens his participation at Lord’s followed a spirited performance in the first Test at Cardiff, in which Flintoff bowled 35 overs but was once again under-rewarded with figures of 1 for 128. Andy Flower, England’s coach, remained optimistic on Tuesday that Flintoff will come through a fitness test today and make himself available for selection, and he was seen skipping during England’s warm-up in the indoor nets, before padding up for batting practice, then sending down a few pacy overs on the outdoor nets.
But regardless of his immense stature in the England dressing-room, the statistics of Flintoff’s recent form and impact on the Test side are not flattering. Since the 2005 Ashes, he has averaged 28.25 with the bat and 34.68 with the ball in 23 Tests (both figures down on his overall Test record of 31.69 and 32.51), and he has not managed a century or five wickets in an innings in any series since then.
Moreover, he has been unable to impose himself on matches in the same way that he did in his 2005 pomp. Although some leeway has to be made for the quality of the opponents he has faced – Flintoff has often been recuperating during low-key series in preparation for the marquee events – the statistics paint a sorry tale. In the 25 matches that Flintoff has missed since 2005, England have won 12, drawn 10 and lost on only three occasions. In the 23 matches in which he has been present, those numbers are almost exactly reversed – won 3, drawn 7, lost 13.
“I would have liked to have stamped my mark more, but I had three years from 2003 to 2005 when I had everything going my own way,” said Flintoff. “I got a few Man-of-the-Series awards on the bounce, and I tried wholeheartedly and gave my best every time I went out there.
“Since 2005 I have just been plagued with injury so I’ve got the opportunity now to finish on a high by helping England to win the Ashes and it will give me great pleasure if I can play my last Test at the Oval and we can win the Ashes – it doesn’t get any bigger than that.”
Flintoff received a cortisone injection on Monday, and is sure to play through the pain if he has to. “For the next four Test matches I’ll do everything I need to do to get on a cricket field and I’m desperate to make my mark,” he said. “I want to finish playing for England on a high and if you look at the fixtures going forward, the way my body is suggests I won’t be able to get through that.”
—–Agencies