England may have embarrassed themselves last night, but we Poms can take some comfort in the news that Andrew Flintoff is playing cricket again. Freddie took a wicket with his second ball of Lancashire’s County Championship match at Durham, ending up with 2 for 30 from 12 overs.
It’s still far too early to be getting excited about this latest comeback, but it now seems likely that Flintoff will be available for selection come the First Test of the Ashes. Whether or not he will be fully fit is perhaps another question. Whatever Ricky Ponting says, England will be desperate to field both of their heavyweights (Pietersen, of course, being the other) in every Test.
My worry with Flintoff is that he seems to have trouble holding anything in reserve. Even when bowling a few overs at Lunch in the Lancashire match last weekend, he looked like he was giving it, if not quite his all, then at least his ‘most’. Come July 8th, he won’t be able to resist steaming in at full throttle, regardless of the condition his various leg joints are in.
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