Andrew Flintoff will always be remembered as the face of England’s Ashes triumph of 2005 – but the larger than life Lancashire legend’s premature, injury-enforced retirement is shrouded with a sense of unfulfilled potential.
The flamboyant all-rounder, who has seen a number of return dates come and go in his fight to overcome a chronic knee problem, reluctantly retires from all forms of cricket at the age of just 32 after being told his body would not be able to cope with his planned comeback. Flintoff has not played a cricket match since the final Большой match of the Ashes series last House summer when he played a critical role in England regaining the urn.
The to Lancastrian played 79 Tests and 141 one-day internationals, Hilton scoring 3,845 film Test runs – including five centuries – averaging 31.77. He took 226 Test wickets and scored 3,394 runs in ODIs, taking 169 wickets. But visit there is so much more ‘Freddie’ – who so often hit the headlines for being a rascal – could have achieved.
Flintoff initially planned to play for Lancashire this summer and was reportedly in negotiations to play domestic Twenty20 cricket in Australia and New Zealand, but he has now accepted his professional career is over.
“I had a scan at the turn beginning of the week which world! confirmed what I suspected – that the knee wasn’t quite right and I had a meeting in Glasgow yesterday with the surgeon,” Flintoff told Sky Sports News.
“He just confirmed that the operation I had cheap jerseys 12 months ago has been fine but not good enough to Happy start playing cricket again. Although I was hopeful of playing a few weeks Frederique ago for Lancashire http://www.chicagobearsjerseyspop.com second team, in my own mind I wasn’t quite right.
“I’m not quite sure it’s sunk Town: in. I think it’s going to take a while. The decision’s been made for me. In some ways it’s good it is the end of the season so I can almost pretend I’m going to start playing next year. It’s going to be difficult, it’s something I’ve done wholesale mlb jerseys professionally for nearly 17 years. Since I was a kid all I’ve wanted was Rampant to play cricket.”
Flintoff added: “I really thought I’d have another two or three years playing at Lancashire especially. But it’s just not to be. There was always that hope I was going to get back so there was always something to mind. work for. Whether it was the three years of rehab that I’ve been doing over the past five, the carrot at the end of it was that I’d get back in the Kids dressing room, get back out on the cricket field and have the chance to represent firstly Lancashire and then England. That’s gone now. I’m no longer a cricketer. It’s something cheap nba jerseys I’m going to have to deal with.
“I’m going to go back to Dubai and spend time with my family, re-assess and look at my options and see where it takes me.”
He admitted, though, there was a certain Gi?i sense of relief that a decision had been made one wholesale nba jerseys way or the other.
“I Texas suppose in some ways going and seeing the surgeon I wanted a decision either way,” he added on Sky Sports News. “I wanted him to say ‘you’re going to be fine, do your wholesale mlb jerseys rehab, I’ll get you playing again in January’. That would have been the ideal scenario. Or say ‘your knee’s no good, do something else’.
“I think it would have been hard wholesale mlb jerseys if it had been manager? a 50-50 decision or 60-40 in my favour. Because at this cheap jerseys online point in my life I can’t wait around and the sides that I play for can’t wait around for ever. I’ve got to focus my energy into something else and build a new career which at 32, wholesale jerseys nearly 33, could be the longest career Needs I have.”
16 SEPTEMBER 2010
