Flintoff to retire

kensutz

It seems his knee injury is never going to heal properly and instead of getting another operation on it, he's going to announce his retirement.

djimi

Was on the cards I guess. Shame; he will forever go down as one of my favorite cricketers, alongside Darren Gough and Alec Stewart. Absolute embodiment of what it takes to be a fast bowler; gave 100% every time he had the ball in his hand.

Beasty

I've got to say, the first half of his career he flattered to deceive a bit, with too many comparisons with Botham probably weighing him down.

However, in my view by the time of the 2005 Ashes he had made himself into a world class player, and his consistency with the ball from around that time was as good as anyone, and his batting a real joy to watch.

A massive shame, but there was a certain inevitability about it

crackit

Stick him in the Harmison camp. Burned brightly for a short while and was world class for 2-3 years. Nowhere near an all time great though. Finishes up with a test batting average of 31 and a bowling average of 32.

A very popular player at a time when cricket saturation hit its peak. I never got the whole thing about his 'charisma' though. Same stupid celebration everytime he took a wicket not very charismatic in my book

Personally I think he's hugely over rated. His performance in the 2005 ashes led to that. He hit his peak in the highest profile series he played in. He was very, very average for the majority of his career.

djimi

crackit wrote: »

Finishes up with a test batting average of 31 and a bowling average of 32.

A prime example of how stats can mean very little sometimes. Despite his exploits when on form with the bat, Ill agree that for the most part 31 is a fair reflection of his batting ability, but a bowling average of 32 in no way reflects the test bowling career of Freddie Flintoff, to the point where it should be almost disregarded when speaking of the man. Anyone who watched Flintoff in the last 5 years will know his value to England. The way he lifted the crowd, how it always felt like something was going to happen when he came on to bowl. The way he tirelessly bound in ball after ball, never putting less than 100% into every ball, even at times when he was in obvious discomfort with his injuries.

Ill be honest, if you didnt get his charisma and felt he was overrated then I feel sorry for you, because you have missed out on one of the truely special players of his generation, even if as you say his light did only only burn brightest for a few seasons. He may not have had a bowling average in the low 20s, but what Freddie gave to the fans was more than can ever be reflected in a bowling average.

crackit

I know its not purely a numbers game but 32 is a modest return. Thats all I'm saying. Flintoff on his day could do serious damage and I don't question that. I've no doubt he's helped spark many a largered up, georges cross, football flag bedecked england crowd up.

That doesn't cut it for me. I like my cricketers to have a bit more substance than that. I've seen Flintoff in the flesh (so to speak!) on many occasions so while you might think I've missed out on something special by not thinking he's such a smashing player, as is your perogative, I know I haven't.

Also, your last 5 years remark is stretching it a bit. His bowling was okay for the last part of his test match career but I'd wager he took no more than 30ish wickets in the last 3 years of his test match career.

He's the cricket version of Gazza. Adored by the masses and was great for his 15 minutes in the limelight but ultimately nowhere near as good in reality as the hype and, in time, myth that will surround him.

kryogen

As a character he will be missed, great for the game of cricket in terms of raising the profile (not always in a good way mind you ) shame he has had to finish altogether, word is that his body just wouldnt have been able to stand up to the rigours of fast bowling so i guess it is time to call it a day then, cant see him being able to accept not being able to steam in

i see the charisma even though in terms of pure playing ability i did think he was slightly overrated, (this is to be expected as he is English and was certainly not his fault)

Im sure he will get plenty of TV work so he will be entertaining me for a long time yet!

Thanks for the memories Fred

Beefy78

kryogen wrote: »

i see the charisma even though in terms of pure playing ability i did think he was slightly overrated, (this is to be expected as he is English and was certainly not his fault)

I don't think he was over-rated at all. Ask the Australians about Flintoff, because to a man the likes of Warne, McGrath, Ponting even Benaut all claimed that they'd have Flintoff in the Australia team and to hell with the statistics. He was so much more than just a character.

It's a real shame that he's retired so early. Even though it was obvious that his body couldn't sustain the punishment that his bowling action put him under I'd hoped that he'd be able to come back with the bat at least, as Ronnie Irani did for a few years.

d'Oracle

His batting wasn't a shadow of former glory for the last couple of years though.

I will miss him.
There are not enough genuine straightforward blokes like him in sport.

djimi

Beefy78 wrote: »

I don't think he was over-rated at all. Ask the Australians about Flintoff, because to a man the likes of Warne, McGrath, Ponting even Benaut all claimed that they'd have Flintoff in the Australia team and to hell with the statistics. He was so much more than just a character.

It's a real shame that he's retired so early. Even though it was obvious that his body couldn't sustain the punishment that his bowling action put him under I'd hoped that he'd be able to come back with the bat at least, as Ronnie Irani did for a few years.

I think some people are confusing "overrated" with "hampered by injury". Crackit made the point that he probably only took 30 wickets in the final 3 years of his test career (29 actually), but that was from 13 tests, compared to the 37 tests he played and 144 wickets he took in the preceeding 3 years when he was largely fully fit.

Corsendonk

Best result for England really, they use the one day team to select new bowlers but there would have been tabloid media pressure to pick Flintoff in the one day team as long as he could play. Beckham comes to mind!

kryogen

Beefy78 wrote: »

I don't think he was over-rated at all. Ask the Australians about Flintoff, because to a man the likes of Warne, McGrath, Ponting even Benaut all claimed that they'd have Flintoff in the Australia team and to hell with the statistics. He was so much more than just a character.

It's a real shame that he's retired so early. Even though it was obvious that his body couldn't sustain the punishment that his bowling action put him under I'd hoped that he'd be able to come back with the bat at least, as Ronnie Irani did for a few years.

But every English player is over hyped in the media if they show some promise, i said it wasnt his fault! id love Freddie steaming in for the Aussies but i maintain he was overrated by the media and a lot of fans, its hardly a massive insult to him to say that

great player, will be missed

TheDrog

Flintoff was a great player, on his day he was one of the best in the world but when he wasn't at his best he was nothing special and that was the issue with him for me it was all or nothing