Flintoff: Taking A Bow And A Laugh

It seems strangely ironical that Andrew Flintoff, who announced his retirement, should produce the spell in the Ashes that gave England their first win in Ashes 2009 and their first at Lord’s in 1934. But Flintoff was equally good with the jokes post match.
The Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, should have been terribly disappointed. But he masked it behind a bemused smile that he even received some claps at the post match presentation. While refusing to give in that perhaps the first victory had set the precedent for the series, Ponting avowed to come back fighting with his team at Edgbaston.
The England captain, Andrew Strauss, sounded a cautious knock that although he was proud of this win, England would not be celebrating yet. They still knew this was a long series and Australia could not be underestimated.
But it was the all rounder, Andrew Flintoff, who was declared ‘the Man of the Match’ for his fiery spell in the second innings, an emotional decision no doubt as it was on merit, who had the crowd in splits.
When asked if Andrew Strauss, at any time, asked Flintoff to give the ball to someone else, Flintoff stated to the amusement of the Lord’s crowd, “If he did, he would have had a battle on his hands.”
He answered in the negative when asked if he would be rethinking about the decision to retire. Flintoff spoke about the aches and pains but that once the crowd got behind him, there was simply no stopping him.
When asked if taking the new ball is something he enjoyed, he broke out with a smile, “I’ve waited ten years for the new ball…” and had the crowds in raptures.
His skill and consistency in bowling, the fire and intensity brimming forth, and the drama that followed each wicket, with a bow, a kneel and shouldering of the arms in authority, all showed Flintoff was enjoying the challenge of completing his Test career with a memorable moment to relish. He certainly openly stated that he would not mind repeating the victory of Ashes 2005 in 2009 and it is something he would like to bow out with a high.

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Ashes T 2 Day 3 Lunch and Tea: England Still in Command, Aus Slow Things Down

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Ashes T 2 Day 2 Stumps: England Have their Hands Around Aussie Necks

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Ashes T 2 Day 2 Lunch and Tea: Rain Halts After Team Trade Wickets

Ashes T 2 Day 1 Stumps: Aus Pick Wickets, Strauss Extends Himself

Ashes T 2 Day 1 Lunch & Tea: Strauss & England on Top, Australia Wayward