Flintoff Rejects England - Arguments For
Andrew Flintoff has confirmed that he has rejected the offer of a one-day contract
with the England & Wales Cricket Board, and will instead become the world's first freelance cricketer in a bid to maximize his considerable earning potential in the final years of his career.
Flintoff retired from Test cricket last month following England's Ashes victory at The Oval, meaning he no longer qualified for one of the ECB's full central contracts. He subsequently underwent a knee operation that will keep him on the sidelines for at least six months, but on Friday he was offered an incremental contract to cover his limited-overs appearances. The option of lucrative Twenty20 deals from the IPL and beyond, however, has proved too tempting to resist.
Followers of the English county game have no reason to be worried about missing Flintoff in full flow, Despite all the high-profile offers that can be expected to come his way, Flintoff is still keen to make a major impact with his county side, Lancashire. "I enjoy playing under Peter Moores and Glen Chapple, our captain, is one of my best mates," he said. "I am desperate to help them achieve success at Old Trafford
There once was a time when the decision that Andrew Flintoff has just reached, even coming in the twilight of his career, would have been greeted with outrage and ostracism. After all, Tony Greig's reputation never recovered from his "defection" to World Series Cricket, and even luminaries such as Alan Knott and Derek Underwood were criticised for putting money ahead of the greater glory of the game.
But there should be no such brickbats lobbed in Flintoff's direction this time around. Cricket has changed massively in the three decades since professionalism took a proper hold, and one look at the sorry non-event taking place in autumnal England right now will confirm that the pursuit of money is the over-riding ambition of everyone involved - boards and players alike.
Ever since he transformed his attitude at the start of the 2003 summer, Flintoff has been the ECB's most marketable personality and the heartbeat that pumped the team through its most successful era for five decades, up to and including the 2005 Ashes. And Flintoff himself knows it, because he has belatedly recognised his own worth. Compared to his spontaneity in 2005, his almost staged or "Kodak" moments during the 2009 Ashes were manufactured, most notably his celebration at Lord's.
There was nothing manufactured, however, about the heart-on-sleeve endeavours that led to the "staged" celebrations, and it is clearly not his fault that the feel good factor that he helped to generate this summer has been squandered by greed and daft scheduling. And England will doubtless intend to select him in the shorter formats of the game wherever the opportunity next arises - their looming 7-0 whitewash shows just how hopeless they are without him.
by: Sarfaraz Khan
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