Surpassing the Ashes

Despite missing Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Simon Jones, Ashley Giles, and Steve Harmison – for the final Test – England rallied to a famous triumph at Mumbai, levelling the series against huge odds. The British press had a field day, savouring the win, and lapped up praise for Flintoff and his brave band of inexperienced cricketers.

Simon Barnes, in his column for The Times, went as far as to put this win as an achievement that surpassed the Ashes victory of last summer. “Inspirational Flintoff brings out the hero inside his men,” he gushed. “It has been a triumph of team solidarity in the face of unrelenting misfortune, but more than that it has been a personal triumph for the stand-in stand-in captain, Andrew Flintoff, who has developed and extended the team solidarity thing beyond all previous limits.”

Echoing Barnes’s effusive praise was Angus Fraser, writing for The Independent. “England have performed many amazing feats since Duncan Fletcher became head coach in September 1999, but yesterday's 212-run victory in the third Test against India was the most remarkable of them all. Winning the Ashes was a magnificent achievement, but defeating India here with - on paper - only half a side was as significant a performance as any of those against Australia” Strong words for a strong side.

Another column in The Independent waxed eloquent - “Bombay bonanza brings back memories of Madras in ‘85” – while praising England’s huge character on the tour. Mike Selvey led the praise Flintoff for his inspirational role in the series and a worthy “annihilation” of the home side in his report for The Guardian. And then there was John Etheridge, who in his editorial for The Sun, sighed “Coochie coochie phew” while backing Flintoff’s decision to remain in India despite the birth of his second child. And in The Mirror, Mike Walters hailed a "Shaggy God story" to sum up the performance of Shaun "Shaggy" Udal, whose 4 for 14 sealed the match.

While there were words of recognition for other stars - Simon Hughes, in The Telegraph, cited Matthew Hoggard’s discipline as paramount to England fortunes – the focus of the UK press remained on one man, Flintoff. “He is a remarkable man,” wrote Barnes. Perhaps it was the best way to sum up the genius of a man who proved here in India, under testing conditions, and captaining an injury-hit and inexperienced side for the first time, that he was a born leader of men.