On Andrew Flintoff

Farewell then, Andrew Flintoff - a larger than life cricketer.

After his recent announcement, he was described as retiring for the first time in his life.

He’s not everyone’s cuppa, is Freddie, bit then neither were Botham or Warne.

Sadly, he’s never been in their class, just their shadow, and stripped bare, his stats reveal him to be no more than an average Test match performer.

He’s had his moments, true. Never more so that in ’05, with ball, bat and pint in hand. Many will tell you that, without injury, his would have been a truly illustrious career.

Number One Sports fan begs to differ. Freddie is an honest artisan, a Corporal in the trenches who loves his country, nothing more. He needs the right officer to bring the best out in him, and those captains he has played under, Atherton, Hussain, Vaughan and most recently Strauss, are not really from the officer class. They are Freddies with Hs at the front of certain words, nothing more, and he, if he were familiar with the word, would probably describe them as jumped up parvenus best kept behind a desk, leaving the real commanding to proper officers.

One wonders how me might have gone under Brearley? A genius at getting his men to perform over and above their natural inclination, Brearley might have turned Freddie into a legend. He managed it with Botham.

But one thing you must hand to him is he is a tryer, and we all love one of those. He gives his all for England on the field. And they will miss him.