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English
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England
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ENG
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Andrew Flintoff
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Right-hand bat
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Right-arm fast
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3080
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167
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174
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6 April
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2006
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MBE (born
December 6 ,
1977 ,
Preston ,
Lancashire ) is an English
Cricket er. A tall (6' 4")
Fast Bowler and aggressive batsman, he is widely regarded as the best
All-rounder in the modern game, rivalled only by
Jacques Kallis . He plays
County Cricket for
Lancashire , where he picked up the nickname "Freddie" or "Fred" due to perceived similarities with
Fred Flintstone .
Flintoff attended school at Ribbleton Hall in Preston. Though he barely played cricket at school, he learnt the game with his dad and brother, including practising on Sport Monthly.
December 2004. Accessed
3 April 2006.
He struggled to make the step up to county level- his first-class debut in
August 1995 was marked by poor catching, in addition to scoring only seven runs.
Michael Atherton recalled "He dropped about 5 catches. He had this reputation as a great slipper because of the size of his hands, but being in the slips to
Wasim Akram was a different ball game to being in the second XI. His was quite a steep, harsh learning curve".
In his early county and international carrer, Flintoff was considered a raw but unfulfilled talent, attracting comparisons with
Ian Botham often made (more in hope than expectation) by his country's tabloid press. He was often accused of a poor attitude to fitness (possibly because of this, his early career was hampered by a series of back problems) and poor concentration when batting, often getting out to ill-considered, overly aggressive shots. He was often mocked for his weight, at one point over 18 stone, notably by fans of local rivals
Yorkshire . He has admitted that an average "night out" drinking could often start in the early afternoon, and team-mate
Stuart Law claimed his drinking could match the legendary levels of
Australia n cricketer
David Boon .
Flintoff was captain of the
2000 . Accessed
15 March 2006 .
Though he lost his England place during 2001, he remodelled his bowling action and he gained a place on the 2001-02 tour to
2002 . Accessed
15 March 2006 .
In 2002 he scored his maiden Test century. By
2003 , a newer, fitter Flintoff started to justify the comparisons with Botham. Up to the end of 2002, he had averaged just 19 with the bat and 47 with the ball; from 2003 to the end of the 2005 Ashes series, the corresponding figures were 43 and 28. In the summer of
2003 he scored a century and three fifties in the 5 Test series against
South Africa at home, and continued to excel on the tour of the
West Indies in March and April
2004 , taking five wickets in the Test in Barbados, and scoring a century in Antigua. In early
2004 he was named as a ''
Wisden ''
Cricketer Of The Year , having failed to make Wisden's top 40 list in 2002.
Although injury prevented him from bowling, he was called into the England squad for the 2004 Nat West
One-day International Series against
New Zealand and the
West Indies as a specialist
Batsman , scoring two consecutive centuries in the series and hitting seven
Sixes in one
Innings .
He matched this haul in the Second Test against the West Indies at
Edgbaston in July, hitting a
First-class best figure of 167. Over the course of England's record-breaking summer, he hit a half-century in all seven victorious Tests against
New Zealand and the
West Indies . On returning to the
One-day game as an
All-rounder in September he fell agonising short of a third
One-day century, caught on 99 against
India , though he went on to hit a further century in the
ICC Champions Trophy pool match against
Sri Lanka two weeks later. At the end of the season he was named as the inaugural winner of the
ICC Award for
One-day player of the year, and the
Professional Cricketers' Association player of the year. He also became a father for the first time when his fiancée Rachael Wools gave birth to Holly on
6 September .
Following the Test series in
South Africa in December
2004 and January
2005 , Flintoff flew home for surgery on his left ankle, leading to worries he might not regain fitness in time for
The Ashes . In fact, following a rehabilitation programme of swimming and hill-walking, he recovered ahead of schedule and was able to return to action for
Lancashire in April.
In the Second Test against Australia at
Edgbaston in August
2005 , he was made man of the match after he broke
Ian Botham 's
1981 record of six sixes in an Ashes Test Match with five in the first innings, and a further four in the second innings. In the same game he took a total of 7 wickets (across both innings) and managed all this despite a shoulder injury early in the second innings. England won the game by the narrowest of margins - just 2 runs. England captain
Michael Vaughan subsequently dubbed the match "Fred's Test" in honour of Flintoff's achievement.
For his achievements throughout the
2005 Ashes series, which was won by England, he was named as "Man of the Series" by Australian coach,
John Buchanan . His outstanding achievement also won him the inaugural
Compton-Miller Medal . He was also awarded the
Freedom Of The City of Preston.
In September 2005 an extract from Flintoff's autobiography, ''Being Freddie'', was published in ''
2005 . Accessed
15 March 2006 . The Indian cricketing authorities rejected this version of events, with one official questioning why nothing was said at the time, and saying, "He can't be serious". New Delhi police also expressed surprise that the incident had been brought up three years later: "If there was any such thing at that time it would have been brought to our attention and action taken," Delhi police spokesman Ravi Pawar said.
In October 2005, Flintoff shared the
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC player of the year award with
Jacques Kallis of South Africa.
In December 2005, Flintoff was crowned
BBC Sports Personality Of The Year for 2005. In the New Year's Honours List for 2006, Flintoff was awarded the MBE for his role in the successful Ashes side.
In January 2006, Flintoff was presented with
Freedom Of The City award for
Preston ,
Lancashire . The award was presented to Flintoff by the Major of Preston. The
Freedom Of The City award entitles the recipient to receive a free beer in any bar or
Pub in Preston, Lancashire. In addition Flintoff can also drive through a flock of sheep through the city centre. Other recipients of the award include Sir
Tom Finney and
Nick Park .
In April 2006, he was named
Wisden Leading Cricketer In The World .
In February 2006, following England captain 2006. Accessed
15 March 2006 . It is not yet clear if Flintoff will keep the captaincy long-term, this will partly depend on when Vaughan and Trescothick return to action.
On the field, Flintoff was seen as a great success during the drawn series with India, with a 212-run victory in
Mumbai . His contributions with both bat and ball ensured that he was named as the player of the series, with many commentators seeing Flintoff as someone who not only worked better under the responsibility but was also viewed as a great influence of an inexperienced side, which included many debutants, such as
Alastair Cook ,
Owais Shah and
Monty Panesar . Flintoff amassed four fifties in the series, and took 11 wickets, on unfriendly surfaces for seamers. Flintoff continued to captain England during the seven ODIs in India, less two to rest.
- Andrew's father, Colin and his brother, Chris, both played cricket, with Colin still playing.
- Andrew owns a couple of boxer dogs, he calls them Fred and Arnold.
- During his innings of 167 against the 2004 . Accessed 13 March 2006
- The highest score of his career at any level is 232 not out for St Anne's (Under 15) Cricket Club against Fordham Broughton, he recalls that "it was a 20 -overs-a-side game, played on an artificial wicket, and I remember getting dropped when I'd scored just six. My opening partner David Fielding scored 60 not out and we got 319 for 0 in 20 overs. You don't forget days like that, whatever the standard you're playing in".
- Flintoff has been sponsored by the equipment firm 2005. Accessed 15 March 2006
- Flintoff was Lancashire 's winner of the NBC Denis Compton Award in 1997.
- Flintoff holds the record for the most sixes scored for England, beating Ian Botham's record of 67 with a six off India's Piyush Chawla in Mohali on 11 March 2006.
- Flintoff is only the sixth player to have batted on all five days of a Test match, achieving this feat at Mohali, in the same match in which he broke the sixes record." Stump the Bearded Wonder No 118 ." BBC Sport. 17 March 2006. Accessed 18 March 2006
- Freddie inspired his troops by playing Johnny Cash 's "Ring of Fire" (which was on Matthew Hoggard 's iPod), at lunch time on Day 5 in Mumbai, which led to his men taking 7 wickets for 25 runs, against India in March 2006. Source: Post-match interview with the BBC.
