Saturday, 4 July 2009

Achilles' last stand

There was a revealing line in Andy Flower's interview with Mike Atherton in the Times.

'This [missing the trip to Flanders] was not a big enough thing for me to drop Andrew Flintoff. No way was it a serious enough issue to do that, to finish someone's career'.

Those words should chill Flintoff rather than comfort him.

Just like the other Manchester uber-lad Ricky Hatton, Flintoff refuses to concede the damage alcohol is doing. He's 31, persistently injured and the fine motor skills required to bat against the world's best bowlers have been eroded. 

It's not over yet, but as Flower says, it may only be a session or two away.
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4 comments:

  1. sid4 July 2009 at 06:47

    'like the other Manchester uber-lad Ricky Hatton, Flintoff refuses...'

    Ecky thump!

    Freddie is from Preston. (Like me.)

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  2. Krish4 July 2009 at 08:13

    Flintoff is England's Symonds, though England need him more than Australia needs Symonds.

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  3. The Old Batsman4 July 2009 at 10:37

    Sid... yeah, you got me - should have said Manchester area... sort of... around that region... Sorry mate!

    Krish, agreed, although we'll see how much they miss Roy. Maybe more than they think...

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  4. Ceci5 July 2009 at 15:59

    Oh dear - it really is open season on Fred - let the cricket commence and the nonsense stop!

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