Flintoff confident in action

Andrew Flintoff: 'I'm 29 and it would take a lot to change things now' © Getty Images

Andrew Flintoff has said he is happy with his bowling action and doesn't feel he needs to make any adjustments. Earlier this week Allan Donald, England's bowling coach, suggested Flintoff needed to work on the position of his left ankle during his delivery stride to take pressure off his troublesome ankle.

"I'm happy with the way I bowl. Three years ago my foot was probably a lot more closed [in the delivery stride] than it is now," Flintoff said after the opening day of the Roses match at Headingley where he took three wickets. "I've got to a stage where I'm happy with it. I'm 29 and it would take a lot to change things now."

"The specialist and the surgeon who worked on it [the ankle] are pleased with how it went and it needed to be done," he said. But one thing we have looked at is footwear to allow my feet to move in the way they do. I need boots that work with that rather than fight it."

Donald, who has been contracted by the ECB until the end of the Twenty20 World Championship, said Flintoff's position at the crease could continue to cause problems. "His front foot [his left, on landing] points inwards and then he twists over it and it turns straight as he goes over the top. Therefore there is counter-thrusting, where bone and muscle are working against each other, so it could be a long-term worry.

"It is not something that I am going to start working on modifying. It would have to be done in the close season. It is up to Freddie to decide."