Significant improvement means Flintoff likely to play in Oval decider

Published on Monday 10 August 2009 22:48

ENGLAND'S Ashes hopes were given a significant boost last night as specialist medical advice suggested Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the must-win fifth npower Test.

All-rounder Flintoff, 31, saw knee specialist Andy Williams in London yesterday and positive news was relayed to Lord's on his condition.

England coach Andy Flower and captain Andrew Strauss made the decision not to select Flintoff on the eve of the fourth Test at Headingley, concerned at his ability to last the course.

But his absence was cruelly exposed by Australia in just over seven sessions of play, as they romped to an innings-and-80-runs victory to level the series at 1-1.

Now Flintoff should have the opportunity to end his Test career in thrilling fashion, having decided earlier this summer to retire from the five-day game at the end of the Ashes series.

An England statement read: "The advice received was that the swelling in his knee has significantly eased following the decision by the England management team to rest him from the last Test match and that subject to further rest and intensive treatment, he will be available for selection at the Brit Oval."

Flintoff's Lancashire colleague James Anderson also underwent a scan on his hamstring, after feeling a twinge when batting on the first day at Headingley, which came back clear.

It means England should take on Australia in nine days with their first-choice new-ball pairing.

Regarding Flintoff's Leeds omission, which has since come in for criticism, Flower said: "He wanted to play, he was desperate to play but he acknowledged that he wasn't fully fit and he was struggling a bit, so we couldn't play him under those circumstances."

Earlier in the day it was reported that Flintoff was unhappy with the decision to leave him out. His agent Andrew Chandler said: "I've never seen anybody as low as Flintoff was on Thursday night when he was told he would not be selected.

"He told them that he was fit enough to get through, that he felt no different to how he felt at Edgbaston and that he could get through and do his bit. They didn't want him.

"He was prepared to do whatever it takes, was prepared to put whatever needed to be put into his knee.

"The whole point of announcing his retirement when he did was to clear his head and prepare to do whatever needed to be done to play the final Test matches of his career. He just didn't see it coming. He wanted to play and they didn't want him, and he didn't see that coming at all."

Chandler believes the net sessions ahead of the fourth Test did not give an accurate reading of how Flintoff's injury would have reacted in a competitive environment. "What they didn't take into account during Thursday's practice was that there was no adrenalin," he said.

"That was why he looked as though he was struggling so much and why he became so much worse on the final day at Edgbaston, when it was clear the game could not be won.

"He was hurting at Lord's but the adrenalin got him through. It would have got him through this week as well."

Flower is adamant the uncertainty over Flintoff's condition could not be blamed as a destabilising factor at Headingley – because they have got used to his ongoing situation.

"I don't think it had a significant effect because we have gone the whole series waiting on his fitness and this match was no different really," he said.

"He hasn't been at this last Test match and there is a good chunk of time between now and The Oval, so we will have a better indication of how he will be in the run-up.

"When you haven't got an all-rounder in that number six or seven spot it is always a problem and one we are going to have to face up to because Flintoff is retiring from Test cricket. That is a problem because we seem to be either light on the batting side or the bowling side."

Flower wants the dust to settle on the Headingley humiliation before plotting plans for the Ashes finale. Calls for new blood have rung around English cricket following the innings loss but Flower believes a sense of perspective is important, despite his own anger at the performance.

Cases have been built for the inclusion of Robert Key, Mark Ramprakash and Jonathan Trott to be called into the XI.

Yet it is not the first time England have dealt with adversity this year, and they responded emphatically to being dismissed for 51 against West Indies in Jamaica without making a raft of changes. England's major current weakness is undoubtedly their middle-order batting and the return of 16 runs in six visits to the crease by Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood has put that trio and the men that selected them under pressure.

"It is disappointing," said Flower. "The output from our middle-order, in terms of runs, is simply not good enough.

"We have scored one Test century in four Tests and the opposition has scored seven. That is as clear an indication of what is happening on the batting front as we need. It is too early to say whether we make changes because it is ten days until the match starts, we have a selection meeting later in the week.

"In between now and that selection meeting we will have a proper think about it and a few discussions. We don't respond to calls for change, we make our own decisions and if we did anything but that I don't think we should be in these positions.

"We are not 4-0 down, it is 1-1, and we intend to go to The Oval and play good cricket."

Flower was particularly irate about the first-day capitulation to the swinging ball, which virtually guaranteed the result, due to the failings of the top six in similar conditions against South Africa last year.

In the players' defence, however, only Strauss, Alastair Cook and Bell featured in this past week and in 2008 when England skittled out for 203 before tea on the first day in Leeds. "Probably the most disappointing thing about that first innings for me was the fact that 12 months ago we played South Africa at this ground and there was a carbon-copy innings," said Flower. "The whole feel and the types of dismissals and the types of shots we played was similar and that is what disappoints me.

"Twelve months on we would want to see some learning taking place. I will have to have a think about why it has happened and get my own theories clear in my head.