This week heard how a hero of modern English sport has decided to retire.
Following an endless string of injuries since his heroic run out in last year’s Ashes, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has quit all forms of cricket.
I can only hope that he chooses to pursue a career in the media so he can keep entertaining English cricket fans with the character that appealed to Joe Public throughout his international career.
In 2005 I watched him lead England to a memorable victory against the Aussies from both the stand and the sofa and his part in the story that helped him win Sports Personality of the Year is something that sticks with many English cricket fans. Him picking up Brett Lee after the drama of the Edgbaston Test, where he terrified with bat and ball, is one of the greatest symbols of the greatest ever series.
In the international arena, Freddie was never far from centre stage, literally. Either smashing balls to the boundary, taking batsmen’s heads off, or saying “mind the windows Tino” from slip. In a game when other things, like an nPower girl or a round at the bar, can sometimes draw the crowd’s attention away, they watched and listened when Freddie was involved.
But it was not just his ability and desire that won him the hearts of fans. It was also the idea that he had an affinity to them. While so many other English cricketers were either born overseas or educated at top-end establishments, Freddie always gave the idea that he was a bit of lad. As good a player as Michael Atherton was, you would not see him do laps of the square with his shirt off.
And even when he hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, getting drunk and taking a pedalo out for a spin in the West Indies, it almost made people feel that you can be at the top of your game and still go out and enjoy yourself. It was not all about
healthy meals and endless training. Although that was a bit OTT.
Freddie epitomised English cricket in a generation where cricket went box office. He was the most expensive player in the IPL when he joined. But it was his Test performances that he was known for something that the powers that be should take a note from.
While it’s sad that injuries meant he couldn’t offer us more. It is fitting that the run out of Ponting, his old adversary, and the trademark arms in the air chewing gum celebration, is another of his lasting memories. And he can stay at centre stage, this time from the commentary box.
JT