Flintoff on his knees
There was a time, towards the end of the last Pope’s life, when the BBC regularly led their news bulletins with the caption ‘No change in Pope’s health.’
It’s similar now with Andrew Flintoff. Each day brings a series of new stories concerning his fitness, most of them revealing nothing we all didn‘t know before. Put simply, he’s running on empty.
But it’s not hard to see why there is such interest. For the message of the last day at Edgbaston was clear: when the ball isn’t swinging, England remain uncomfortably reliant on Flintoff. And when he’s not firing, they look dispiritingly toothless.
He’s clearly nowhere near fit. Not only was he ineffectual with the ball – he was down on his pace and failed to make the batsmen play enough – but he was almost immobile in the field, limping around like the victim of a recent shark attack. The enduring image of the final day at Edgbaston was seeing him on his knees in mid-pitch, struggling to refind his feet after going over on his ankle in his delivery stride. Worryingly, it brought back memories of Simon Jones and David ‘Syd’ Lawrence.
Certainly Flintoff’s performance was a boost to Australia. In the post-match press conference, Ricky Ponting was quick to seize on the issue. “You could see he went downhill pretty quickly during the course of this game,” Ponting said. “His injury is probably taking more of an effect than we realise. It’s been visible over the last couple of days, he’s been struggling more than he did during the Lord’s Test. No doubt they protected him late this afternoon, knowing how big a figure he is for the team.”
With Flintoff unable to summon up the magic he found at Lord’s, Australia were able to play out the final day at Edgbaston with relative ease. Michael Clarke (103 from 192 balls with 14 fours) and Marcus North (96 from 159 balls with 15 fours) added 185 for the fifth-wicket in 50 overs to settle matters, but the way in which Shane Watson and Michael Hussey negotiated the first hour of the final day suggested a draw was highly likely.
With Strauss opting to open with Flintoff and Onions on the final day, it took an hour for James Anderson to be called into the attack. By then Australia had already eked out a lead and though Anderson struck in his first over, Watson edging a loose drive, the slow nature of the pitch and absence of swing rendered England’s seamers impotent.
Swann was surprisingly ineffective, too. He struggled with his length all day, delivering a surprising number of long-hops and full tosses, and looked a chastened figure long before the end.
Broad enjoyed a better day. Though not called into the attack until the 52st over, he also struck quickly – Hussey pushing at one outside off stump – and, much later, picked up the bonus wicket of North – outstandingly well caught by Anderson at gully.
There were precious few chances inbetween times, however. Clarke, on 38, offered a tough chance to Strauss at short mid-wicket in Bopara’s first over, but that was as close as England came.
Both batsmen batted splendidly, with North , driving quite superbly, accelerating in an attempt to reach his century, and Clarke reaffirming the impression that he has developed into a batsman of high-class with a restrained and selfless innings.
Later Clarke – on 92 – was fortunate to see a ball from Broad hit his stumps but not dislodge a bail, while Clarke was also caught off a no-ball off Bopara when he had scored 96. But by then the result was long since confirmed.
The pitch at Leeds again promises to be flat, so England will hope Flintoff is available. With Broad still ineffective and Harmison struggling with badly blistered feet, he remains irreplaceable. Whether he iws ready for Friday is doubtful, however.
