After 17 months out of England's test team is Freddie up to the task?
The time that some thought would never come is about to arrive. On Friday at Headinginly, Andrew Flintoff will play another test match for England. All England fans will hope that it spells the end of a terrible injury plagued period for the inspirational all-rounder.
A lot has happened in cricket since Australia completed a whitewash of England in the new year Sydney test in 2007. There have been low points, most notably being the awful spectacle that was the Cricket World Cup. However,The twenty20 world cup and IPL went some way to restoring fans faith in world cricket.
Injury Woes
During all of these events Andrew flintoff now on the wrong side of 30 has had numerous injury problems. Add this to the “Fredalo” event and Flintoff has a lot to prove to Captain Micheal Vaughan.
After the World Cup While preparing for the West Indies tour of England flintoon injured his ankle and was ruled out for the first Test.. Having undergone another operation on the troublesome ankle, he missed the whole Test and one-day series against the West Indies and the test series with India. Following several games for Lancashire, Flintoff returned for England in an ODI. While fielding he injured his knee and sat out the third ODI. He returned for the 4th ODI on August 30. Flintoff missed England's two narrow defeats to India in the 5th and 6th ODI before taking 3-45 in the 7th ODI, helping England win the series 4-3 in a 7 wicket victory. His ankle injury recurred during the end of the 2007 season, he did not accompany the England squad to Sri Lanka, and a fourth operation meant Freddie missed both the Sri Lankan test series and the 2008 tour of New Zealand.
Returning to Action
The early part of the 2008 county seaosn has seen Flintoff return to action in a bid to be fit for the South African tour. Flintoffs renowned tireless bowling would have been just what England would have needed when trying to win the first test on the fourth and fith day.
His bowling form for Lancashire has been promising, with 13 first class wickets at an average of 25.84 (With a very impressive econony rate of 2.39)
As a batting average of just 22 shows, his bowling form has not quite matched with the bat. He has clearly shown enough to convince the selectors that he is needed for a successful england team. He will bat at number 7 which is a overdue change needed to reflect his role in the team.
Flintoff is without doubt a vital bowler to England, as he gives control over a batsmen which the likes of Anderson cannot do. Englands top 6 should take responsibilty to get the lions share of the runs in an innings. When Flintoff does get runs it should be seen as an added bonus, when he does fige it can turn a reasonable total into an imposing total.
Keeping Fit
Looking further forward, there are two bing questions all England fans will undoubtably ask.
Can Flintoff return to the form that saw him play such a vital part in England winning the 2005 Ashes? Secondly, can he also stay injury free to give England a chance to regain the Ashes next summer?
If Flintoff is eased back in the international frame, then he shoud give England the edge in a closely fought series against South Africa this summer. His form has shown enough to show with a little more action he will be back to something like his Ashes form, although he will no longer be a true all-rounder, more a bowler who makes the odd good socre. However, in this current cricket climates true all-rounders will generally become rarer as the packed schedules take their toll.
Freddie will want to play in every game after this series, but if England want to have a chance of winning the Ashes in 2009 Flintoff will need to be rested at times as his injury problems can only worsen if he over does it.
If managed correctly, Flintoff could become the li nchpin that leads england to another ashes triumph. It may seem improbable that England can go from being whitewashed one ashes to winning the next, but it is not impossible.
If it all comes together with the likes of Bell, Broad, Cook and Anderson play to their full ability then potential match winners like Flintoff and Pieterson could inspire England to an unlikely win!
If the next 17 months are as good for Flintoff as the last 17 were bad, then by 2010 Flintoff could be considering bowing out on a high.
Whether England win or lose, heres hoping for some exicting cricket over that time!
Thanks for reading;
James.
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