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The 'People's Hero'. Are You Convinced?

July 16, 2009 , ,
Freddy's gone. In similar style to that in which Steve Waugh announced his retirement just prior to the India series of 2003-04, Andrew Flintoff has kicked the bucket on his test cricket career, one match into the Ashes series.

Flintoff will officially be finished with test cricket after the second test at Lord's, which commences today, 10:00 GMT.

But what of it? Should we be saddened? confused? angered? in hysterics? or should we even care? I'm not sure. Flintoff's career has ebbed and flowed, due much to his attitude off the field impacting his on-field performance and relationships off it. Leading up to the 2005 Ashes and his performance in that series, Flintoff showed class, comparable to best allrounders to have played the game.

Since then, Flintoff has spent more time nursing injuries and being disciplined than playing competitive cricket. And when the 'People's Hero' has taken to field, his performances have not done justice to his ability, and has frequently seemed indifferent to his form and the impact it has on his fellow teammates.

I would like to open this forum to those who hold an opinion of Flintoff: the player, the joker, and now according to Ponting, the star of the "Circus". Should he be applauded or made to walk the Gauntlet of Shame? As I said earlier, I'm just not sure. The jury is certainly out.

What do YOU think?

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4 comments

Venkatesh said...

Hi
Well apart from the 2005 Ashes,Flintoff hasn't done much to be an all time great.He like many other promising players has been spending half of his time in the hospital/rehab centre than on the field.
A good player....perhaps not enough for a lover of cricket to be disappointed on his retirement.

July 16, 2009 2:37 pm
Avi Singh said...

Flintoff has been very much like England's Chris Cairns, and I think a fair assessment of him is as a very good Test allrounder who had periods of greatness that he could not sustain over his whole Test career in the same way that Jacques Kallis has. Indeed if you look solely at the stats, Kallis would have to be considered the superior Test allrounder.

Batting:
Flintoff 3708 @ 31.69
Kallis 10277 @ 54.66

Bowling:
Flintoff 219wkts @ 32.51 S/R 65.6
Kallis 258wkts @ 31.08 S/R 66.0

Maybe Flintoff's constant stream of injuries held him back from acheiving greatness, but that will alwyas remain a 'what if'. Fact is Kallis is the better player, but I bet that when Kallis retires there will not be even half the appreciation that Andrew Flintoff is getting. The strange way that cricket works...

July 17, 2009 7:25 am
Aaron said...

Freddie is still the best all rounder in world cricket today, pure for his 'all round ability' if you can find anyone better in current test XIs, then name them please.

kallis is no longer in that league of all rounder, and he gave up that priviledge when he started to focus more on his batting then his bowling, he is a mere part timer in test cricket and on a long day he would be lucky to get 15 overs in an innings. A great cricketer no doubt and better than Freddie, but for me Fred's bowling is irreplaceable and his bowling records speak for themselves.

His batting of course has ebbed and flowed, but for guy coming in at number 6-7, an average of 30 plus is more than competent.

Plus his ability in the field is amazing, the fact a man of that size and mobility can manage to be so aerobic in the field is beyond me, not to mention his good hands in the slip coirdon.

A great cricketer who will be sorely missed and it is upsetting to say that we never saw the best of him on a regular basis.

lets hope my boy Dwayne Bravo doesnt suffer the same fate as Freddie.

July 17, 2009 11:45 pm
Ayush Trivedi said...

Calling Freddie great is a tad much IMHO. He had potential and fulfilled it for about 3 years of his career. For the remainder he's merely flattered to deceive. His career stats are ample evidence of this view.

Aaron - I don't think being the best of a mediocre bunch makes him "great"

July 18, 2009 9:53 am

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