It's all things Fred Flintoff
Flintoff is reportedly 'devastated' that England chose to rest him for the fourth Test despite him claiming full fitness
Ashwin Achal
25-Feb-2013
Flintoff is reportedly 'devastated' that England chose to rest him for the fourth Test despite him claiming full fitness. But James Lawton, in the Independent, asks questions about the reasoning behind Flintoff's possible selection for the fifth and final test. Is it right to rest all hopes on a half-fit Flintoff just because this is his final stint in Tests?
Yes, fine, but did this assume that England, so grateful to have his at times Herculean services, would suspend all the normal rules of selection, not to mention the obligation of care that normally attends the training and preparation of both human and equine sports stars? One racing insider was aghast yesterday at some of the comments from the Flintoff camp. "In any decent yard," he said, "what was being proposed for Freddie Flintoff just wouldn't, couldn't happen to a horse."
In the short break between Edgbaston and Headingley it was reasonable to take for granted Flintoff and his people's understanding of the basic point that no one, not even Andrew Flintoff or his injured team-mate and fellow superstar Kevin Pietersen, could ride indefinitely over the laws of nature. Indeed, many of Maradona's post-game agonies are attributed to years of being filled with painkillers, and then taking the hits to a body stripped of its ability to make proper reports to the brain.
Martin Samuel echoes those sentiments in the Daily Mail, saying that Flintoff doesn't seem to realise that the Ashes is about the team, and not only about him.