12/21/24
September 16, 2010
Andrew Flintoff Announces Retirement: A talisman to English cricket, the bowler of that over (Minute by Minute - look for the 12th over), "Freddy" Flintoff has hung up his bat after failing to fully recover from injuries suffered in the 2009 ashes series.
posted by Mr Bismarck to other at 11:05 AM - 6 comments
Indeed. Off the top of my head he has what, 4500 test runs and 200 wickets? Good but not awesome figures, but for him it was timing. If a Test was slipping through the fingers, or some obdurate batsman needed to be reminded that he was renting the crease, not a permanent fixture, then you gave the ball to Flintoff.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 01:00 PM on September 16, 2010
3,845 test runs at an average of 31.77; five hundreds and a top score of 167. 226 wickets at an average of 32.78; only three five-fors and a best of 5/58. As you say - good, but not awesome. In fact, I'd say that even though I was expecting them to be worse than my opinion of him, I'm surprised at how bad they are! Only 3 five-fors in 79 matches really surprises me.
posted by JJ at 01:10 PM on September 16, 2010
He was never really a five-for bowler though, because he put every effort into every delivery. He wasn't built to take on a long spell repeatedly over five days, he'd just come in, rip out the middle order or maybe even one guy who was set and then go back into the field.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 02:02 PM on September 16, 2010
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The run-out of Ponting at the Oval last year was a pretty decent swansong in that regard: while the situation wasn't as poised as Edgbaston 2005, Ponting and Hussey were bedded in, the weather forecast for the final day looked gloomy, and the England attack needed a spark. (Minute by Minute: 63rd over.) Up pops Freddie to throw down the stumps.
I'm sure that the retrospectives will include talk of how he might have extended his career by being bowled less as a young player or by having more time to recuperate from injury, or by turning down another round at the bar, but in the end, you just have to accept and appreciate Fred for the player he was.
posted by etagloh at 02:10 PM on September 16, 2010
then you gave the ball to Flintoff
If he was in the XI, and wasn't out because of a knee knack.
Seriously, he was the kind of player that you'd pay money to see. I'd rather watch Freddy bat or bowl than just about any of the run accumulators or line and length metronomes listed above him in the stats.
posted by owlhouse at 03:24 AM on September 18, 2010
In a game where the numbers are easy to collect and quantitative analysis of careers is rife and sometimes held up as the most meaningful way to measure anyone's achievements, Freddie is the prime example of how sometimes the quality and timing of the wicket or the innings is far more important than the quantity. I don't imagine his numbers stack up well against a lot of other players, but my god he did some important things at important times that turned games - arguably even turned series - in England's favour. I'd say he'll be missed from the game, but from a viewer's point of view, we'll probably get more Freddie now (from the booth).