It's not going to happen, is it? Just like Beckham in 2002, and Rooney in 2006 England are going to go into a major sporting contest disrupting their team for a player who is not 100%. Even worse, now he's captain we have no choice.
With all the talk of the tail if we play five bowlers, there has been little mention that playing Flintoff in the team at 6 weakens the batting compared with the Pakistan series (even the Flintoff batting of the last 2-3 years). If Flintoff is only at 85-90% fitness then he will have to bat at 6. If the story of the Ashes isn't consistently England 50-2, recovery to c 220-4, allout sub 300, then i would be surprised. The debate is consistently presented as if Flintoff is the equal of any other batsman in the top 6 and his bowling is a bonus. A different game but the signs were shown starkly in the ODI on Sunday.
With all the talk of the tail if we play five bowlers, there has been little mention that playing Flintoff in the team at 6 weakens the batting compared with the Pakistan series (even the Flintoff batting of the last 2-3 years). If Flintoff is only at 85-90% fitness then he will have to bat at 6. If the story of the Ashes isn't consistently England 50-2, recovery to c 220-4, allout sub 300, then i would be surprised. The debate is consistently presented as if Flintoff is the equal of any other batsman in the top 6 and his bowling is a bonus. A different game but the signs were shown starkly in the ODI on Sunday.