Flintoff admits he fell short of greatness

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 22:53

ANDREW Flintoff was due to undergo the knife last night having cut ties with Test cricket and conceding he fell short of greatness.

England all-rounder Flintoff, 31, was booked in to see his surgeon Andy Williams in London just 24 hours after bowing out of Tests amid the euphoria of a second home Ashes series win.

He will have an arthroscopy on his troublesome right knee, which held up just enough to get him through four of the five matches in the 2-1 victory over Australia, and is as yet unsure as to how long he will be sidelined.

But looking back on a 79-Test career, of 3,845 runs and 226 wickets, when he awoke from Sunday night's celebrations, Flintoff, hero of the country's cricket-loving public, modestly insisted he failed to breach the top bracket of cricketers.

"I have never achieved greatness and I don't profess to," he said. "I was asked 'have you been a great cricketer?' by someone and the obvious answer is no.

"That's the Bothams, the Sobers, the Imran Khans, the Tendulkars, the Ricky Pontings, who achieved greatness over a long period of time, playing Test after Test after Test.

"I have performed at times and I am proud to have done that.

"For the bulk of my career I have played through pain and with injury, so to be out on the field was an achievement in some ways – but as for greatness? No."

Back in 2005 when Flintoff terminated Australia's 16-year monopoly on the Ashes with his man-of-the-series exploits, it appeared he was on course to emulate the feats of some of those listed.

But four ankle operations and now two doses of knee surgery shattered his dreams and forced a re-think: post-operation he will be restricted to one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

Only when the damage in his right knee has been assessed will the extent of his lay-off be established.

"The reason I am having it is so I can play international cricket," said Flintoff. "However, not until I wake up from the anaesthetic, will I know the extent of what the surgeon's done.

"Obviously I can't get any 100 per cent guarantees but I wanted him to tell me what it would be like afterwards. Having spoken to him, I am confident I will get back on a cricket field. You talk about incentives and there is no bigger incentive than to play for England.

"Whatever the rehabilitation is, however long it will take, I am prepared to do it to give myself the chance to play international cricket again."

The final image of his Test career was his sporting handshakes for Australian centurion Michael Hussey, the last man out, and Ben Hilfenhaus on the Oval pitch at 5.50pm on Sunday evening as his own team celebrated wildly.

"It is par for the course to show the opposition some respect and shake their hands," said Flintoff, who was galled when West Indies ran amok on the field without acknowledging England's players following the 2004 Champions Trophy final on the same ground. "It was quite strange, to be honest, the euphoria of being in an Ashes victory again, the realisation that I will not walk out in whites again.

"There was a lot of mixed emotion, walking around the ground, seeing my family up in the box – my missus, the kids, my mum and dad and everyone – and I enjoyed last night.

"However, it has now actually dawned on me that the next time England play a Test match I am not going to be involved, and that is something I will desperately miss and means that at this moment in time I am not sitting too comfortably."

Neither was he sat comfortably in the dressing-room in the aftermath of the 197-run win.

"I didn't think I would get emotional but I did a little bit," he confessed.

"I went up there and sat in the corner, the place I always sit at the Oval, on the left with my kit everywhere and while the lads were jumping around and celebrating, it was a teary moment.

"Then I saw the television cameras coming into our dressing-room and I thought: 'No-one's seeing my crying'.

"I nipped into the toilets to give myself a minute and pull myself together."

Aside from the sweet career victory moments, regularly toasted with beer or whisky, Flintoff also has a fondness for Ashes battles, and personal tussles against two other opponents – India's Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan, the most prolific batsman and bowler in Test history respectively.

"Playing against Australia brought the best out of me and as for players I loved playing against there were actually two," explained Flintoff.

"To get the opportunity to play against someone that you have watched and held in such high esteem as Sachin Tendulkar, when you bowl at him you are not just trying to get him out, you are trying to impress him.

"I want him to walk off thinking 'that Flintoff, he's all right isn't he?' I feel privileged to have played against him.

"I would loved to have played against Viv Richards and I would love to have played in the same side as Beefy (Ian Botham).

"For me though it has been Sachin and Murali, who I played with at Lancashire.

"I can't bat against him, I'm clueless. However, just to watch him and the way he goes about his business is really special too."

There were just five minutes left before Flintoff had to go nil by mouth prior to surgery.

Neither has his appetite for the game been sated, given that the all-rounder has set himself a target of becoming the world's best limited-overs player whenever he returns to the game he loves.

Five steps to retaining the urn

FOUR years ago, England won the Ashes to great acclaim for the first time in a generation. Eighteen months later, they lost them 5-0 in Australia. Here, we suggest five tips on how to retain the Ashes down under.

1 FEET ON THE GROUND

It was OBEs and MBEs all round after 2005 – once the booze, open-top bus parade and Downing Street receptions were out of the way. It was right, of course, that England went with the mood of a nation after their major achievement back then. But none of the above sustained them through a tough sub-continental winter. There should be more level heads than sore heads this time around.

2 LIFE AFTER FLINTOFF

Do not get hung up on replacing the retired hero. Stuart Broad recovered his form admirably in this summer's final two Ashes Tests. But comparisons with Andrew Flintoff and mentions of his heir apparent status are potentially damaging.

3 (NOT TOO MUCH) CONTINUITY

The first of England's watchwords, regularly espoused by national selector Geoff Miller. England have learned from Australia that evolution is the key to a successful team. Conversely, Australia arguably paid for their conservative selection this past summer – no Hauritz or Lee at the Oval – and continuity is a virtue only if the personnel is right. When you have a generation of great cricketers, as Australia did for a decade, there is no need to chop and change. England should protect what they have, but not at the expense of emerging talent.

4 CONSISTENCY

The quality glaringly lacking for both England and Australia at present. It is another of Miller's favourite nouns. Yet lurching from Cardiff desperation to overdue Lord's success, then Headingley embarrassment to Oval glory is not the behaviour of a consistent team.

5 LEADERSHIP

This key component went AWOL under Flintoff in 2006/07. Under Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower, it appears to be on a sound footing. It will not be easy – the anticipated return of a fit Kevin Pietersen is, for example, an as yet unanswered variable – but captain Strauss has shown himself calm under pressure and authoritative on and off the field.

It is handy too that the extra responsibility seems to translate to many more runs off his own bat.