Sun 18 Mar 2007 3:36 pm
As someone who has got into difficulties in pedalos in the past, my sympathies go out to Andrew Flintoff. At best they’re fiendishly designed contraptions, traps for the unwary at any hour, but particularly so at 4a.m. in the morning. I had a particularly painful experience in the harbour at Aiguablava a few years when I was jeered by rich Catalan families from the decks of their yachts. I just hope that Freddie’s experience was not of this magnitude.
Fri 24 Nov 2006 3:31 am
Not a good toss to lose this one. This new ball had a bit more swing about it and Anderson got it to go, but Hussey and Ponting were watchful without being unduly troubled. Flintoff bowled superbly – bowling Hussey on this wicket was a real achievement, and one lifter against Ponting was something special. You felt he should have been on earlier but
1) he doesn’t want to over-bowl himself
2) he chose to do the harder yards,bowling when the advnatge of the new ball was starting to wear off
As for Harmison, well occasionally he looked dangerous, but his line was still often erratic, and a test match in front of 40,000 is not the ideal place to bowl yourself into form if you’re feeling fragile.
Tue 27 Jun 2006 9:59 am
The England team management must be delighted that the World Cup is relegating cricket to the odd item on the back pages. If there was no football going on some pretty vitriolic stuff would be served up at this moment as England stumble to five successive losses in three different formats to Sri Lanka.
What cricket news there is focuses on injury: knee, hip, failed operation, ballet dancing and delayed comeback, concerning Giles, Vaughan, Flintoff, Jones : just perm any combination of these and you’ll get a story.
There’s disquiet about the failure of the top order to cash in and make hundreds and about the wicketkeeping and batting of Geraint Jones, but it was Mike Selvey who honed in on the bowling. After noting that Harmison often bowls badly at Lords, but had improved by the Oval with an opening burst of 6 overs for nine runs, Selvey said:
He’s right, the technical aspects of the bowling have to improve but what is significant is the relative inexperience of Mahmood and Plunkett, as well as Bresnan. It does seem to take a couple of years for bowlers to bed down at international level whether it’s in tests or ODIs. Both Harmison and Flintoff rarely looked dangerous in their first year of bowling at international level, and in the 2004-5 South African tour it was noticeable how Vaughan turned to Simon Jones only releuctantly. The potency of the Ashes winning quartet took several years to develop, and the four of them had international experience under their belt before Cooley started working with them.
Advocating Gough as tactical adviser is an interesting one. There’s always the possibility that his ebullient self-belief – remember he still want to play for England at 36 – would destroy the fragile confidence of the current crop of bowlers. In addition his role could clash with that of the fast-bowling coach Kevin Shine, although Selvey probably envisages a divvy up of the technical and tactical advice.
On the other hand, Steve Waugh was once asked if he would pick any members of a losing England team for the Australian side. His answer was that he would pick none of them, although he would have Darren Gough as 12th man for dressing-room morale. Perhaps it’s reached that stage.
Sat 27 May 2006 8:24 am
Flintoff getting ready to bowl.
Fri 28 Apr 2006 12:16 pm
It looks like Michael Vaughan will not have recovered from his knee injury in time to lead England against Sri Lanka in the first test. Besides, when coming back from injury he needs to establish his own form and fitness, and this is best done at county level. A fit Vaughan would be the first-choice captain of Duncan Fletcher and most England supporters, but the fact that remains is that Vaughan is not fit, and, at this moment, it’s difficult to say exactly when he will return.
The England selectors have the choice of going for a match by match appointment or appointing someone for the Sri Lankan series. Without actually saying it, Trescothick has virtually ruled himself out as a captain, either on a temporary or permanent basis. The choice therefore is between Strauss and Flintoff, who both had experience of captaining England in India.
Flintoff did a first-rate job in India, where he led the team to a great victory in the third test to square the series. But there’s a concern about over-burdening him, when its seven months away from the first Ashes test, with two test series and the ICC trophy scheduled before then. It’s possible that some of his bowling load against Sri Lanka could be taken on by Collingwood, where early-season conditions will benefit the Durham players’s medium pace.
I’d prefer to go for Strauss and I’d make it an appontment for the whole of the Sri Lankan series. This would give:
There’s a poll in the right-hand margin if you want to have a vote.
Sat 15 Apr 2006 1:26 pm
With the test series against Sri Lanka scheduled to start on 11th May at Lords Duncan Fletcher will be thinking about his captaincy options on the flight home from India.
With Vaughan possibly injured, with Trescothick possibly reluctant, with Flintoff possibly over-burdened, it may just possibly end up being Strauss.
Anyway there’s a new poll on the right-hand margin where you can cast your votes.
Wed 22 Mar 2006 9:49 am
At lunch India were 75-3 with Dravid and Tendulkar the not out batsmen. While 228 in two sessions was a tough task on a slow-scoring wicket, you couldn’t contemplate the possibility of an England win while these two were around. You sensed it would be long into the final session before you would be certain of the outcome of this match.
Flintoff brought himself onto bowl and Dravid waved his bat at a delivery outside off-stump, nicking a catch to Jones behind. With “The Wall’ gone you felt England were in with a chance.
At the other end Shaun Udal was bowling, getting some turn and bounce, running in with some confidence. Tendulkar stretched forward to one and there was a quizzical lbw appeal, but it was turned down. Then a couple of balls later Tendulkar bat-padded it to Bell at short leg and in the space of 2 overs the two most dangerous batsmen were gone.
At the centre of things, directing the operation was Flintoff, always talking to his bowlers, his right arm jabbing out, adjusting the field placings. The peak of his blue cap creased and piped with white sweat salt, his stubble moving around as he chewed gum. If Sergio Leone did cricket captains then they would be like Freddie Flintoff.
He replaced himself with Anderson, who dismissed an unfit Sehwag, batting with a runner, with a delivery that came in and caught him lbw. The same delivery that Hoggard has been troubling him with when he’s opened the innings.
Dhoni decided it was time to play his natural game and go on the attack, but as Flintoff found yesterday it’s not the wicket on which you can easily take the liberty of hard hits. Dhoni sent one spiraling up to Panesar in the deep who held out both hands and the ball missed him by about five yards. The camera was on him, and you could see this one as the peach of the next edition of the Tuffers Duffers DVD. This lapse gave Dhoni the confidence to try it again, and this time Panesar arrived in the right place and caught it, and for his pains received an energetic ritual mobbing from the rest of the team, his nose and cheeks rubbed sore.
Flintoff brought himself back to dismiss Yuvraj Singh; Harbhajan and Patel holed out to Hoggard in the deep, off Udal, who bowled unchanged after lunch and picked up 4-14 in 9.2 overs. In around an hour’s play India lost their last 7 wickets for 75 runs.
A good win for England, the 400 made on the first day, looked more and more valuable as the match progressed and runs became harder to come by. Flintoff has brought an esprit de corps to the England team, with the newcomers Shah, Anderson and Udal all playing significant roles in the match.
Dravid’s decision to insert England after winning the toss gave England a crucial advantage in the game . Rumour has it that the Indian top-order batsmen were reluctant to face Hoggard with the prospect of swing in the air. If so then its testament to how well he has bowled in the series, and the psychological hold he established at Nagpur and Mohali.
Flintoff has done remarkably well as captain: the huddle on the pitch at the end said it all: the symbol of a well-led team effort, it told of a series in which different players have contributed at different times. England would have been pleased with a drawn series before it began. The fact that it’s come after the loss of key players, and after losing the second test, has made it even sweeter.
