Flintoff signs three-year deal with Lancashire

Andrew Flintoff has agreed a new three-year deal to play one-day cricket for Lancashire, ending speculation over his future in the county game after he opted to become a freelance player following the decision to turn down an ECB incremental deal.

Flintoff is currently recovering from the knee surgery he underwent following the Ashes series in August and is aiming to return to action in the one-day series against Bangladesh at the end of February. After calling time on his Test career, Flintoff said that he wanted to become "the best one-day player in the world" and is also being linked with a number of Twenty20 sides around the world.

This new contract will replace the rolling one-year deal that would have come into place after Flintoff declined the England offer and was due to expire in 2010 and takes him up until the end of the 2012 season. The deal doesn't include first-class cricket but Flintoff may still make the occasional four-day appearance if Lancashire needed his assistance.

"This contract will also give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world, which hopefully help me develop as a player and in turn, help Lancashire and England," he said. "I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success. I am looking forward to being around the Lancashire dressing room more now I have retired from Test cricket

"I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and that is something I want to address. I have a good relationship with Peter Moores and Glen Chapple and hopefully I can be of help to them both on the pitch and in the dressing room."

Head coach Peter Moores believes that Flintoff's presence in the squad will a huge lift for the side. "Fred is a proven match-winner, and the type of player that lifts a dressing room with his sheer enthusiasm and will to win. It's great that he is going to be with us, and I'm sure our supporters will be just as thrilled with the news."