Flintoff: Your Time Is Now

For the first time since Andrew Flintoff made his England debut at Trent Bridge in 1998, he will begin a domestic season, without the weight of expectancy on his shoulders. Whilst attentions have been turned towards Michael Vaughan's supreme batting, Marcus Trescothick's loss of form, and who will replace Alec Stewart in the one-day arena, nobody has noticed 'Freddie' Flintoff's quiet progression which could lead to him ending 2003 as the world's premiere all-rounder.

"How can a player that averages 19 with the bat and just under 50 with the ball in Test cricket be the world's number one all-rounder?" you may well ask. When the county season draws to a close, it is statistically improbable, but on form and talent combined it is very possible. The world is crying out for an all-rounder to take it by storm this year. In the post mortem of the World Cup, it seems that Jacques Kallis is now an out-of-form batsman, whose bowling has become erratic and Chris Cairns an inconsistent batsman, whose bowling has almost become non-existent, due to injury. Whilst Flintoff exited South Africa with a respectable batting average of 31.20, and outstanding bowling statistics of 7 wickets at 20 runs apiece, with a staggering economy rate of just 2.87, making him the most economical bowler in the World Cup.

Three weeks into May, Zimbabwe, on paper being the weakest Zimbabwean squad to tour England, will face off against England in the First Test match of the summer. This will be the stage for the first of Flintoff one-on-one challenges. During the World Cup, another hard-hitting and fast bowling all-rounder shone through. This man being Zimbabwe's 24 year old, Andrew Blignaut. In the World Cup, Blignaut generally bowled in the 135 to 145km/h range (with the aptitude to crank up the pace as he wished), with a fastest of 148.9km/h (92.52 mph), combined with a strike rate of 138.20 runs per 100 balls faced, including a highest score of 58 against the World Champions, Australia, showing that this young man from Harare has no shortage of ability.

Throughout the last 14 months Flintoff has shown glimpses of that of which he is capable. From averaging 40.50, with a highest score of 137 in New Zealand, to averaging 38 with the bat and 30 with the ball in the NatWest series, to his latest feats in the ICC World Cup. Now the 25 year old must take his talent to the next level.

As soon as the Test series with Zimbabwe draws to a close, Graeme Smith's South Africans will grace English shores to contest the NatWest Series and a five Test series. Travelling with them as an integral part of the squad is the man who is labelled 'the world's best all-rounder,' Jacques Kallis. However, he is in grave danger of losing such a prestigious title. In the last five months, Kallis has averaged just 11.62 with the bat in One Day Internationals and 40.33 with the ball in Tests. On the biggest stage of them all, the ICC World Cup 2003, Jacques let himself down badly finishing with a poor average of just 15.72 runs per innings, and a dismal three wickets at 64.33. Despite this, Jacques has been in fine form in the Test arena with his batting in recent months. Currently missing the TVS Cup because his father's illness, he may return reinvigorated and hungry for runs and wickets, or he may return mentally jaded and fatigued from the gruelling World Cup and then the ill health of his father. Only time will tell.

On the eve of the county season, the calls that Andrew Flintoff will be 'the next Ian Botham' seem to have finally faded into the mist, and when the pressure seems to be at it's smallest for five years, Flintoff may just be about to show the world what he can do on a regular basis. On the bowling front, Andrew is very versatile and clever as a bowler. He has a number of weapons, namely bounce, pace, slower ball and reverse swing. And as a batsman, he is a hard-hitting free-scoring maestro, that can turn a game in a blink of an eyelid. Now is his time, and long may he shine.


Posted by RichardH