Andrew Flintoff Retires

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Andrew Flintoff calls time on cricket career


Andrew Flintoff has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket "with disappointment and sadness".

The injury-plagued all-rounder, 32, revealed the decision came after consultation with medical advisers.

He said: "Having been told my body would no longer stand up to the rigours of cricket, I had no alternative."

Lancashire star Flintoff played a key role in England's Ashes successes of 2005 and 2009 but had been dogged by knee problems in recent years.

He added in a statement: "I was told the problems I have been trying to overcome in rehab for the last year, following the latest of a series of operations, would not recover sufficiently to allow a comeback."

Flintoff retired from Test cricket at the end of the 2009 Ashes series, having another knee operation two days later, while turning down the offer of a new central contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

However, he repeatedly expressed his desire "to be the best one-day player in the world" and underlined his continued commitment to his country for limited-overs matches.

Preston-born Flintoff signed a new three-year contract with Lancashire in November 2009 while undergoing injury rehabilitation in Dubai but was forced to call off a planned comeback for the county's 2nd XI this summer.

Although he was named in his Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings' provisional squad for the Champions League Twenty20, and his agent Andrew Chandler revealed that Flintoff was close to signing a deal to play domestic Twenty20 cricket for Queensland, fears grew that he might never represent England again.

In 79 Tests, he scored 3,845 runs at an average of 31.77, with five centuries - and although he captured 226 wickets at 32.78, he only took five wickets in an innings on three occasions.

Flintoff made his reputation in schoolboy cricket as a hard-hitting right-hander and right-arm fast bowler, and he made his Test debut against South Africa in July 1998 at the age of 20.
BBC Sport - Cricket - Andrew Flintoff calls time on cricket career
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Injuries and his lack of dedication early in his career meant, it was more a case of what might have been, rather than what was...
 
Rigours of cricket? Don't you just stand there for several hours, and then everybody suddenly decides enough if enough and someone has won?

He's a bit of a Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime anyway.
 
Hopefully he'll go into commentating, he had his swan-song in the last ashes. One of the great characters of Cricket and he will be missed.

Anyway, he's free to continue his career in drinking now, hopefully Freddie and Shane Warne will commentate on the ashes together now, that'd be hilarious.
 
esmufc10 said:
Rigours of cricket? Don't you just stand there for several hours, and then everybody suddenly decides enough if enough and someone has won?

He's a bit of a Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime anyway.
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I know nothing at all about cricket, but it does seem that cricket games don't actually end, at all. England seem to be playing a game against one of three other teams, every single day, while all the cricket clubs are playing at the same time, and then in the middle of those games, another game starts, with the same two teams, and players, but slightly different rules.

It sounds pretty rigourous to me.
 
Whilst Freddie's heroics for England will be remembered the most, my abiding memory will be of an innings he played for Lancs against Surrey in a one day match a good few years back. Televised I think by C4, it was just one of those innings where everything came off for him.

If it wasn't for injuries, I think we'd be talking about Flintoff in the top 5 cricketers of all time. However, the injuries wrecked the true potential he had, but none the less he was still a wonderful player and a hero back in 95.
 
Tribec said:
Whilst Freddie's heroics for England will be remembered the most, my abiding memory will be of an innings he played for Lancs against Surrey in a one day match a good few years back. Televised I think by C4, it was just one of those innings where everything came off for him.

If it wasn't for injuries, I think we'd be talking about Flintoff in the top 5 cricketers of all time. However, the injuries wrecked the true potential he had, but none the less he was still a wonderful player and a hero back in 95.
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I thought the Falklands War was in 1982 :confused:
 
feck! I fecking love big Freddie, even when he destroys us... He's my favourite player.
 
AdZzUtd said:
Hopefully he'll go into commentating, he had his swan-song in the last ashes. One of the great characters of Cricket and he will be missed.

Anyway, he's free to continue his career in drinking now, hopefully Freddie and Shane Warne will commentate on the ashes together now, that'd be hilarious.
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:lol:

feck me that would be fantastic.
 
cesc's_mullet said:
feck! I fecking love big Freddie, even when he destroys us... He's my favourite player.
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:lol: I assume you're an Aussie.

Freddie had the knack of putting the wind right up your lot! To be fair, if I was batting it's the last sight you want to see, that drunken oaf storming towards you, ball in hand.

That sounded strange. Still, I'll miss him demolishing you lot loads.

:(
 
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! :(

tribec said:
if it wasn't for injuries, i think we'd be talking about flintoff in the top 5 cricketers of all time. However, the injuries wrecked the true potential he had, but none the less he was still a wonderful player and a hero back in 95.
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2005?
 
I never really warmed to him for some reason. He had some great moments but probably didn't quite achieve what he should have done in his career.
 
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