Freelancing Freddie will not disturb county game

While Andrew Flintoff chases the millions from Chennai to Dubai, the county game will continue to satisfy journeymen cricketers, writes Kevin Mitchell in the Observer.

As St Freddie hobbles off into a supposedly golden sunset, dreaming of making as much as £18m over the concluding five, pain-killer years of his career, from Dubai to Chennai and who knows where else, an old verity resurfaces: in professional cricket, the team game played by a collection of often insecure individuals, it is everyone for himself.

In the New Zealand Herald, David Leggat gives the New Zealand perspective on Flintoff's globetrotting, stating the example of Brendon McCullum, who had explored ways of circumventing a New Zealand Cricket contract while maintaining his IPL deal before signing in July.

Here's a thought. What if next year a player went to NZC and said he'd had a variety of offers to occupy him through the coming months round the globe, with big financial spinoffs. The board replies: 'Fine, off you go, best to the wife and kids, see you same time next year?' Who would suffer more?