Win2Win Racing
23rd July 2010, 09:45
The Cricket Blog meets Andrew Flintoff at the Daytona go-kart track at Sandown racecourse. He is a brand ambassador for Shell, the oil and petroleum giant, and its new Fuel Save petrol. He’s standing in the Tuesday morning sun in front of a VW Polo bearing the company’s logo. After a quick introduction I’m ushered into the car, with Freddie at the wheel.
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Miles-Flintoff-4.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Miles-Flintoff-4.jpg)Andrew Flintoff, right, is clearly delighted to have the opportunity to meet editor of The Cricket Blog, Miles Reucroft
At first he extols the virtues of fuel efficient driving – remove your cricket bags from the boot, check your tyres, lose the roof-rack, close the windows and turn off the air-conditioning. Unfortunately it’s a warm day.
Freddie cautiously pulls away from the line and encourages our eyes onto a monitor showing how much the petrol tank is emptying by as we go along. It’s not long, however, before talk turns to cricket. He is jovial in his manner and is at ease talking about topics ranging from the Indian Premier League to whether England should have a four-man or five-man bowling attack.
“I’m a bowler, so I’d say five,” he says. Or is he? On the subject of batting he says that he sees himself as a batsman and describes wielding the willow ‘as a reward for bowling’. Right now he says he’s going back to basics. “In the nets I’m concentrating on seeing the ball and just hitting it as hard as I can.”
I take this as the right time to ask if he’s keen on turning out for the Chennai Super Kings franchise in next season’s IPL. “Oh yeah!” he says in a cheeky you-know-exactly-why kind of way, his eyes lighting up in the rear-view mirror. “When I played for Chennai it was in South Africa. Playing in India is a completely different experience.”
Unfortunately we come back to the subject of cars. “In Dubai I’ve got one of those Audi Q7s and over here a Range Rover,” he says. Given that both of these tanks are thirstier than a post-2005 Ashes celebrating Andrew Flintoff, perhaps he needs to conserve the petrol. “Are they?” he asks sheepishly when I point out their gas guzzling ways. His guilty look suggests that he knows.
Following a few laps we retreat and Freddie takes a few more of the gathered hacks round the track. We then get five minutes with Dictaphone et al to talk to arguably England’s most influential cricketer of this century.
We start by returning to talk properly about the IPL, rather than idle car-journey chat. “Yeah, I’d love to,” says Flintoff when I ask if he wants to play IPL next year. “First and foremost though, I need to play cricket. I need to get back on a field, probably initially, for Lancashire 2nd XI and then play my way back into the 1st team at Lancs. Everyone’s asking about IPLs and World Cups, this so called ‘freelance’ thing, which is bizarre really because people have played for different clubs since, well, for years.
“I’ve got to get out there and prove my fitness, prove my form before I can think about Chennai and possibly Queensland and World Cups and things. I want to play for Lancashire first.”
His passion for Lancashire is clearly undiminished. They are the first team that he mentions during any conversation about his returning to competitive action, but the England jersey also remains in his thoughts, if not his immediate sights.
Since Flintoff stepped away from cricket following last summer’s Ashes series, the domestic game that he is so evidently eager to return to has changed somewhat. Not least in the limited overs where 40 over cricket is now the order of the day, not 50.
“I think a lot’s been made of it,” he says. “I used to love playing the old Sunday League, which was always 40 overs. The one thing about it was that everybody knew where they were, they knew there was a game on a Sunday and you got the crowds in. 40 over cricket’s great.
“Everyone’s asking ‘is 40 over cricket doing us any good when at International level it’s 50?’ It’s only 10 overs, isn’t it? It’s not a big thing!”
But from a bowlers perspective, does bowling eight instead of 10 overs affect one’s rhythm? Flintoff interrupts my question to state that, “It’s only two overs. You’ve still got the same pressures – you still have power plays, you still have to bowl at the death, just like 50 over cricket. Your good players will perform whatever – whether it’s Twenty20, 40 overs or 50, or four day cricket.”
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Flintoff.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Flintoff.jpg)"I’d love to play Test cricket still, but unfortunately my knees can’t stand up to it," says Flintoff.
I then mention Imran Khan’s words from the night before we met, where he delivered the ‘MCC Spirit of Cricket Colin Cowdrey Lecture’ at Lord’s. He expressed his fears for the future of Test cricket and, in particular pace bowling, mentioning Flintoff when talking about players choosing to sacrifice the rigours of Test cricket for Twenty20 and all that it entails.
It is a subject that is clearly close to Flintoff’s heart and the merest suggestion that he gave up Test cricket for financial gain rankles with him. “Obviously I respect Imran, but with the Twenty20 stuff I think there’s a huge place for it in the development of cricket, attracting kids, attracting a new audience, bringing fans into the grounds.
“I truly believe, however, that Test cricket is the best form of the game. The one thing we need to do is preserve it. So, for instance, you’ve got your English summer, we’re actually blessed here that we do get full houses and big crowds which isn’t the case in the rest of the world; we need to preserve that. Rather than playing a one-off Test here or there let’s have an event like The Ashes, like in India, and build everything else around it. I’d agree with Imran on that front.
“With players leaving for money I can’t agree with that. If you look at the players playing IPL, a lot of them have played Test cricket and they’ve built reputations that have enabled to play IPL. The likes of me, I’d love to play Test cricket still, but unfortunately my knees can’t stand up to it. So twenty20 and the shorter forms are an option for. I’m lucky in that respect that I can still stay within the game and play.”
I then ask Flintoff if he would return for a one-off Test. I put the scenario to him that England might be desperate and there’s an Ashes decider up next. He throws me a quizzical look and shakes his head. “It wouldn’t do anyone any favours. One, I’ve retired and two, for the development of the team. They don’t want people popping in for one Test. I think they’ve improved over a period of time because they’ve filled key positions, the side have stuck together and they’ve grown together. I think they’ve got key players, or people who can come into key positions due to injury or lack of form and I think that’s something they should persevere with.”
The proof is out there for all to see. England have enjoyed a successful run in 2010, not least in winning the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean. Was it disappointing for Flintoff that he wasn’t a part of that?
“Yeah, I was hoping to play in it but it was evident from a long way out that I wasn’t going to make it,” he says. “So, it wasn’t a case of getting to the West Indies and a week before having to pull out – I knew. I did what everybody else did and became an England fan. I wanted them to do well.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d have loved to have been in Barbados at the end of it with a medal. I think the knock-on effect for the team, though, is increased confidence. Every time they go out on a field they expect to win. I think that’s showing through their recent performances and results.”
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Tresco.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Tresco.jpg)Flintoff rates Marcus Trescothick as the best player he played with for England.
We then talk about Flintoff’s England career and the best player played with in an England shirt. After pausing for thought Flintoff tells us: “There’s been a few. To single out one; Trescothick. The side’s success when we had about four years of dominance, Tres was going up and opening the batting. He smashed everyone about, he made it easy for everybody else. Coming in down the order and Tres had got runs, the opposition is on its knees and we used to come in and reap the rewards!
“Kev’s not bad either, is he!” No he’s not Freddie, no he’s not!
Our time with Flintoff was concluded with a quick question about the future – what next? “I realise cricket’s not going to last forever and I’m looking at various TV opportunities,” he says. “I don’t want to end up in a position where the cricket’s come to an end and I’ve seen ex-professionals who don’t know what they’re going to do and they have to jump for the first thing that comes along. I want to be in a position where I can build for the next year or two – build for the inevitable.”
Call him Fred, Freddie, Andrew or Flintoff (his missus calls him Andrew if you were wondering) Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has left his mark on the English and International game. His influence is surely nowhere finished and the thought of Flintoff and Shane Warne teaming up in a commentary box near you sometime soon is an appealing one.
For now, however, avert your eyes from the fast lane and look in the middle lane – that’s where you’ll find Freddie, ensuring he gets his extra litre of fuel out of Shell’s new petrol.
By Miles Reucroft
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http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Miles-Flintoff-4.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Miles-Flintoff-4.jpg)Andrew Flintoff, right, is clearly delighted to have the opportunity to meet editor of The Cricket Blog, Miles Reucroft
At first he extols the virtues of fuel efficient driving – remove your cricket bags from the boot, check your tyres, lose the roof-rack, close the windows and turn off the air-conditioning. Unfortunately it’s a warm day.
Freddie cautiously pulls away from the line and encourages our eyes onto a monitor showing how much the petrol tank is emptying by as we go along. It’s not long, however, before talk turns to cricket. He is jovial in his manner and is at ease talking about topics ranging from the Indian Premier League to whether England should have a four-man or five-man bowling attack.
“I’m a bowler, so I’d say five,” he says. Or is he? On the subject of batting he says that he sees himself as a batsman and describes wielding the willow ‘as a reward for bowling’. Right now he says he’s going back to basics. “In the nets I’m concentrating on seeing the ball and just hitting it as hard as I can.”
I take this as the right time to ask if he’s keen on turning out for the Chennai Super Kings franchise in next season’s IPL. “Oh yeah!” he says in a cheeky you-know-exactly-why kind of way, his eyes lighting up in the rear-view mirror. “When I played for Chennai it was in South Africa. Playing in India is a completely different experience.”
Unfortunately we come back to the subject of cars. “In Dubai I’ve got one of those Audi Q7s and over here a Range Rover,” he says. Given that both of these tanks are thirstier than a post-2005 Ashes celebrating Andrew Flintoff, perhaps he needs to conserve the petrol. “Are they?” he asks sheepishly when I point out their gas guzzling ways. His guilty look suggests that he knows.
Following a few laps we retreat and Freddie takes a few more of the gathered hacks round the track. We then get five minutes with Dictaphone et al to talk to arguably England’s most influential cricketer of this century.
We start by returning to talk properly about the IPL, rather than idle car-journey chat. “Yeah, I’d love to,” says Flintoff when I ask if he wants to play IPL next year. “First and foremost though, I need to play cricket. I need to get back on a field, probably initially, for Lancashire 2nd XI and then play my way back into the 1st team at Lancs. Everyone’s asking about IPLs and World Cups, this so called ‘freelance’ thing, which is bizarre really because people have played for different clubs since, well, for years.
“I’ve got to get out there and prove my fitness, prove my form before I can think about Chennai and possibly Queensland and World Cups and things. I want to play for Lancashire first.”
His passion for Lancashire is clearly undiminished. They are the first team that he mentions during any conversation about his returning to competitive action, but the England jersey also remains in his thoughts, if not his immediate sights.
Since Flintoff stepped away from cricket following last summer’s Ashes series, the domestic game that he is so evidently eager to return to has changed somewhat. Not least in the limited overs where 40 over cricket is now the order of the day, not 50.
“I think a lot’s been made of it,” he says. “I used to love playing the old Sunday League, which was always 40 overs. The one thing about it was that everybody knew where they were, they knew there was a game on a Sunday and you got the crowds in. 40 over cricket’s great.
“Everyone’s asking ‘is 40 over cricket doing us any good when at International level it’s 50?’ It’s only 10 overs, isn’t it? It’s not a big thing!”
But from a bowlers perspective, does bowling eight instead of 10 overs affect one’s rhythm? Flintoff interrupts my question to state that, “It’s only two overs. You’ve still got the same pressures – you still have power plays, you still have to bowl at the death, just like 50 over cricket. Your good players will perform whatever – whether it’s Twenty20, 40 overs or 50, or four day cricket.”
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Flintoff.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Flintoff.jpg)"I’d love to play Test cricket still, but unfortunately my knees can’t stand up to it," says Flintoff.
I then mention Imran Khan’s words from the night before we met, where he delivered the ‘MCC Spirit of Cricket Colin Cowdrey Lecture’ at Lord’s. He expressed his fears for the future of Test cricket and, in particular pace bowling, mentioning Flintoff when talking about players choosing to sacrifice the rigours of Test cricket for Twenty20 and all that it entails.
It is a subject that is clearly close to Flintoff’s heart and the merest suggestion that he gave up Test cricket for financial gain rankles with him. “Obviously I respect Imran, but with the Twenty20 stuff I think there’s a huge place for it in the development of cricket, attracting kids, attracting a new audience, bringing fans into the grounds.
“I truly believe, however, that Test cricket is the best form of the game. The one thing we need to do is preserve it. So, for instance, you’ve got your English summer, we’re actually blessed here that we do get full houses and big crowds which isn’t the case in the rest of the world; we need to preserve that. Rather than playing a one-off Test here or there let’s have an event like The Ashes, like in India, and build everything else around it. I’d agree with Imran on that front.
“With players leaving for money I can’t agree with that. If you look at the players playing IPL, a lot of them have played Test cricket and they’ve built reputations that have enabled to play IPL. The likes of me, I’d love to play Test cricket still, but unfortunately my knees can’t stand up to it. So twenty20 and the shorter forms are an option for. I’m lucky in that respect that I can still stay within the game and play.”
I then ask Flintoff if he would return for a one-off Test. I put the scenario to him that England might be desperate and there’s an Ashes decider up next. He throws me a quizzical look and shakes his head. “It wouldn’t do anyone any favours. One, I’ve retired and two, for the development of the team. They don’t want people popping in for one Test. I think they’ve improved over a period of time because they’ve filled key positions, the side have stuck together and they’ve grown together. I think they’ve got key players, or people who can come into key positions due to injury or lack of form and I think that’s something they should persevere with.”
The proof is out there for all to see. England have enjoyed a successful run in 2010, not least in winning the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean. Was it disappointing for Flintoff that he wasn’t a part of that?
“Yeah, I was hoping to play in it but it was evident from a long way out that I wasn’t going to make it,” he says. “So, it wasn’t a case of getting to the West Indies and a week before having to pull out – I knew. I did what everybody else did and became an England fan. I wanted them to do well.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d have loved to have been in Barbados at the end of it with a medal. I think the knock-on effect for the team, though, is increased confidence. Every time they go out on a field they expect to win. I think that’s showing through their recent performances and results.”
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Tresco.jpg (http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Tresco.jpg)Flintoff rates Marcus Trescothick as the best player he played with for England.
We then talk about Flintoff’s England career and the best player played with in an England shirt. After pausing for thought Flintoff tells us: “There’s been a few. To single out one; Trescothick. The side’s success when we had about four years of dominance, Tres was going up and opening the batting. He smashed everyone about, he made it easy for everybody else. Coming in down the order and Tres had got runs, the opposition is on its knees and we used to come in and reap the rewards!
“Kev’s not bad either, is he!” No he’s not Freddie, no he’s not!
Our time with Flintoff was concluded with a quick question about the future – what next? “I realise cricket’s not going to last forever and I’m looking at various TV opportunities,” he says. “I don’t want to end up in a position where the cricket’s come to an end and I’ve seen ex-professionals who don’t know what they’re going to do and they have to jump for the first thing that comes along. I want to be in a position where I can build for the next year or two – build for the inevitable.”
Call him Fred, Freddie, Andrew or Flintoff (his missus calls him Andrew if you were wondering) Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has left his mark on the English and International game. His influence is surely nowhere finished and the thought of Flintoff and Shane Warne teaming up in a commentary box near you sometime soon is an appealing one.
For now, however, avert your eyes from the fast lane and look in the middle lane – that’s where you’ll find Freddie, ensuring he gets his extra litre of fuel out of Shell’s new petrol.
By Miles Reucroft
http://www.thecricketblog.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/feed-statistics.php?view=1&post_id=1419
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