What Flintoff Gave Cricket

Andrew Flintoff has retired from cricket. Nobody could say it was a surprise, as the injuries kept stacking up, and returns were looking more and more unlikely. Fred has been a fantastic performer for England over the past decade, and while some are quick to mock his subsequent career as a celebrity, it's important that nobody underestimates Flintoff's importance to English cricket, and what he's given to cricket in general.


Brilliant bowling

Flintoff's over to Langer and Ponting at Edgbaston in 2005 was surely his highlight - and indeed was one of the best overs ever bowled. With every ball on the spot, he asked questions of two of the world's top batsmen each delivery, before removing both of them. While history remembers Hoggard's hat-trick at Barbados, it was Flintoff who took a five-for in the first innings. As both a renowned death bowler in limited overs, and as a strike bowler in tests, Flintoff was England's talisman with the ball, and by the end of his career was a better bowler than batsman (not bad for a supposed batsman who could bowl a bit). Often tipping above 90mph, as well as generating some swing, Flintoff was a deadly bowler to face. Highlights have to be the continued high performance in the 2005 Ashes, bowling to Jacques Kallis in 2008 at Edgbaston, as well as the scintillating spell on the final morning at Lord's in 2009 to finish off the Aussies and pick up an all-too-rare 5 wicket haul.


Destructive batting

While many will remember his hundred at Trent Bridge in 2005, his best innings was probably against the West Indies at Edgbaston, where he brutally marmalised the Windie attack to pick up 167. And (attention Flintoff cliche fans) he even picked out his dad in the crowd with one massive six! (Who dropped it.) Flintoff owned all the shots, and while his brute strength meant that they often cleared the rope, people shouldn't forget the natural batsman Flintoff's excellent timing. He didn't just belt teams around; a patient 95 against South Africa at the Oval was Flintoff at his best, mixing some big hitting with some delicate strokes.


Solid fielding

Flintoff was long known as one of the best slippers in the business, and his bucket-hands meant very few chances were spilled. Never the most mobile or agile, Flintoff's seminal moment in the field was running out Ricky Ponting at the Oval in 2009. (You knew it was coming!)


Captaincy

Yes, Fred may have been captain for the lowest point of English cricket, but he was also skipper for a test victory in India, as well as overseeing a ODI series victory out in Australia. But to be fair, he wasn't a great captain. Sorry Fred.


The Aura

Whenever Flintoff either came on to bowl or came out to bat, the crowd became frenzied, and expectations were raised. Every interview with players who played with Fred will speak of how much belief he gave them when they were playing alongside him, and his simply being there inspired so many great victories. When Flintoff played well, oftentimes England won, and that was due to everyone raising their game to match the feats of Fred. Conversely, opposition batsmen who had been scoring freely went into their shells once the announcer called out "Andrew Flintoff", simply because the man had such an aura surrounding him.


Sportmanship

Brett Lee at Edgbaston. Nuff said.


Sense of Fun

Everyone who played with Fred said what great fun he was in the dressing room, whether that was singing to Rocket Man or Ring of Fire, or hitting the bar (heavily) after the game. Unsurprisingly, the general public's main knowledge of Fred is of his red bleary eyes on top of the bus after winning the Ashes, confessing that he hadn't been to bed that night. Also included is the famous "mind the pavilion windows, Tino" sledge which bought the wicket of Tino Best in 2004. Sure, he could take it to far at times (Fredalo, anyone?) but what a bloke he must have been to play alongside.


New fans

After the 2005 Ashes, cricket became back page news, and was picked up by so many new fans nationwide. Much of that was due to Flintoffmania, a by-product of Ashes Fever, and his high level of performance, combined with his character meant that cricket was brought into the mainstream. While celebrity (whether unwanted or not) followed for Flintoff, he played a huge part in bringing cricket to a new generation of fans (myself included).


Andrew Flintoff may now have left cricket, but he leaves a massive hole in the game. He brought so much to the game, and served it so well, and it's only right that he is remembered as a true legend of the sport.

Oh how we love!
Your pedalo
Your gorgeous wife
Your ample girth
Your chain smoking
Your beer drinking
Your slip catching
Your seam bowling
Your six hitting
Our all round man
ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Freddie Flintoff
Freddie Freddie Flintoff
Freddie Flintoff
Freddie Freddie Flintoff

Well played, Super Fred.

The Winners and Losers At The End of The Season

The County Championship is much maligned. With sparse crowds and odd fixture lists, the LVCC isn't so much ridiculed as ignored.

But the four day championship is the platform for potential England stars to impress, as well as the stage for current and former ones to shine. This year we've had Steven Finn taking a 9-for, Stuart Broad taking an 8-for, as well as aspiring England players Hildreth and Lyth at the top of the run scorers charts. Everyone's in agreement that test cricket is the purest form of cricket, and the English domestic County Championship is the breeding ground for test cricket. And as well as that, it's pretty funking exciting.

Today's final day of the season had everything. Stubborn batting, inspired bowling. Teams contriving to lose, and gallant victories from nowhere. Teams fighting for promotion, relegation and championships. This whole season has been incredibly tight, and deserved the climax it got. Fortunately rain didn't play (much of) a part in the final day's proceedings, and there were no wink-wink nudge-nudge declarations. There was only fiercely competed cricket, with high drama, excitement, and more twists than Inception (apparently... I haven't seen it...)

Today's winners? Well, Nottinghamshire won Division One; well deserved after a season leading from the front with some outstanding cricket throughout. It's only fitting that Andre Adams took the crucial wicket needed; his 69th of the season and most out of everybody. Worcestershire also big winners; clinching what at one stage was the unlikeliest of promotions from the clutches of Glamorgan. Warwickshire got the win they needed to avoid relegation with Kent the unlucky (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) side who will drop into Division Two.

But the biggest winner? The County Championship itself. Talk of reform in the county game has been ongoing all year, with talk of three divisions, regional based conferences, reduced matches and increased restrictions undermining the current system. While changes may well be implemented, the fact that two nine team leagues each playing 16 times can go down to the final hour of the season shows that entertainment wise, there is no need to alter the current state of affairs. The two divisional system may or may not return, but if it doesn't, what a send off it got today.

This is not a Flintoff post.

This is not a Flintoff post. Yes, there will be one, as I want to honour a fantastic performer for England, and a man who played a huge part in me getting into cricket.

But today is about the County Championship. Congratulations Nottinghamshire!

Craig Kieswetter on Twitter

Craig Kieswetter's on Twitter. He's apparently been on for a while, but I only just found him. Yesterday he was tweeting of how he wants more followers and mentions. So I'm giving him a plug.

I'm plugging him partly because he's an England World Cup winner and top-class wicket-keeper batsman. But mainly because his bio says "Cider or cricket? Cider anyday!". And that's a message that we can all follow.


If you are on Twitter and want more than stalking top-level cricketers, you should follow The Short Midwicket. Apparently he's really good.

Poll - Who has the worst beard in cricket?

Oh dear, readers of the Short Midwicket. You've let yourselves down. And not only that, you've let Mohammad Yousuf down. This week I stuck up a poll to see who has the worst beard in cricket. For no real reason, other than I am interested to see who you'd pick. I put in the obvious answers; Peter Siddle's triangle goatee, Steve Harmison's designer stubble. I even had Dan Vettori, Stuart Broad's bumfluff and Ricky Ponting's dodgy tache. A curveball was Yousuf, who clearly has the best beard in cricket (other than Moeen Ali). But 37% of you chose his facial fuzz to be the worst. For shame.

Podcast - Who will be the County Champions (League)?

Download the latest episode here

A well-informed preview of the Champions League, as well as more stuff on the nailbiting end to the County season, and the not-so-nailbiting England/Pakistan T20 seriesette

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Shah Not So Ace

I don't know how many people saw Owais Shah's dismissal at Lord's today. Shah's departure from Middlesex has been well documented, as he is clearly one of the most talented batsmen in England, and nobody wants to lose a player of his quality, and who is also an academy graduate.

However, at times Shah's application, concentration and shot selection leaves a lot to be desired. Middlesex were chasing a modest target, and a few wickets had fallen. The side were struggling, and needed senior man Shah to stand up and make runs which could have led to a win. Shah threw his wicket away with an ugly swipe which was caught at mid-on.

If one shot could sum up why Shah is being let go, it was that one. Owais will be looked back on as one of Middlesex's best players of the noughties, but the time has come for him to leave. After knowing his time as an England player has gone, Shah appeared to lack the motivation to make big scores - perhaps highlighted most pertinently when he made only his second ton of the season after hearing of his departure. His decision to not acknowledge the pavilion highlights his displeasure, but again raises questions over his temperament. If he only made runs as a sign for selfish reasons, why didn't he make runs when the team needed them throughout the summer?

Owais Shah's final shot for Middlesex may not have made much of a difference to a game that Middlesex lost convincingly, but it served to further underline the reasons for his departure.