Flintoff return warmly welcomed

The effect that Andrew Flintoff has on a cricket ground was witnessed again at Lord's today, as he made his much anticipated comeback from injury. His 17 may not have set the world alight but it was a significant milestone in his recovery from the left ankle bone-spur that forced him home from the tour of South Africa and resulted in surgery.

There was a reasonable crowd to see Flintoff back to competitive action and after watching him buzz around the field for 45 overs Lancashire quickly got into the spirit of the occasion, losing three early wickets. As Flintoff strode to the crease at No 5 the crowd shuffled to the edges of their seats, put down their newspapers and balanced their coffees so their hands were free for the applause.

After a quick pat of the pitch and a flex of the arms he faced his first ball from Nantie Hayward, the red-haired South African quick bowler. He calmly went onto the back-foot, and played the ball right under his eyes. Flintoff's last competitive match was the Centurion Test in January and although he played a practice game at Old Trafford earlier this month he could be forgiven for being a little rusty.

It took him 10 balls to get off the mark. He played and missed at two in succession from Scott Styris and then inside-edged onto his pads. Then, however, things began to click. A short-arm pull through mid-wicket was followed by a perfectly executed on-drive towards the Lord's pavilion. In the next over he forced an extra-cover drive towards the Tavern boundary. He was even feeling confident enough to run the quick singles and there was only a momentary flex of the offending ankle.

He was looking comfortable and it came as a surprise, and disappointment, when he was trapped lbw by Styris after 23 balls and 33 minutes. As Flintoff departed so did sections of the crowd and the press box became a hive of activity - he was, of course, what everyone had come to watch. The main event was over, and although it had only been an appetiser, rather than a main course, most people seemed satisfied with what they had seen.