tooextracool
International Coach
unless you happen to be chris martin.....Neil Pickup said:
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Is Flintoff Overrated?
- Thread starter a massive zebra
- Start date
superkingdave
Hall of Fame Member
Its a shame he couldn't carry on....his career average was over thirty but it's back down below now
superkingdave
Hall of Fame Member
Thought i'd ressurect this thread to see if anyones opinions have changed. For the batting i think he has really turned a corner over the last 12 months and his bowling is a lot more threatening. Does anyone still think he is overrated? And the last comment seems to have done the trick!Neil Pickup said:
a massive zebra
International Captain
Well Flintoff has certainly become more reliable and is now a really dangerous batter in both forms of the game. Just one thing to note though, he has been hammering the pretty weak New Zealand and West Indian attacks, last time he played against a strong bowling attack (Sri Lanka), he averaged 23. The real Test will come when he plays against South Africa and Australia.superkingdave said:
With the help of Troy Cooley he has finally started to take some wickets, and can lay claim to being one of the most effective one-day bowlers around. In Tests he is an important part of the attack and can take crucial wickets, but will never run though a good Test team IMO. Always been a good fielder.
So yes my opinion has changed, but Flintoff has improved and I think my original comment was perfectly valid at the time it was written - Flintoff very rarely delivered despite his great reputation. He still needs to prove himself against Australia/South Africa/India etc before we can call him a world class Test player, already an outstanding one-day player (ranked in the top 10 for both batting and bowling).
Langeveldt
Soutie
My opinion is slowly changed.. I no longer think he is an over rated batsman..
He has to do some more work at test level in order to convince me about his bowling though...
He has to do some more work at test level in order to convince me about his bowling though...
SpaceMonkey
International Debutant
Thought id add that he became only the 2nd no6 in the history of test cricket to pass 50 in an innings 6 games in a row. (first being Sir Garfield Sobers). According to ch4 anyway.
Richard
Cricket Web Staff Member
The only thing now is, what happens when this extraordinary form of this summer dries-up?
You can say "what if it doesn't", but the fact is, no-one can go on scoring the runs he has at the rate he has this summer, it just doesn't happen.
We saw it with Vaughan, and we'll see it again - just a question of when.
If he's smart, he'll know that. The question then will be, will he keep on averaging 30 or will he go back to averaging 19?
That will define whether he's truly the Bothamesque many want to believe he is. But one thing that is now certain is that he'll play all England games except where he's injured or rested for the next 6, 7 or 8 years.
You can say "what if it doesn't", but the fact is, no-one can go on scoring the runs he has at the rate he has this summer, it just doesn't happen.
We saw it with Vaughan, and we'll see it again - just a question of when.
If he's smart, he'll know that. The question then will be, will he keep on averaging 30 or will he go back to averaging 19?
That will define whether he's truly the Bothamesque many want to believe he is. But one thing that is now certain is that he'll play all England games except where he's injured or rested for the next 6, 7 or 8 years.
Flintoff certainly is NOT overrated. I think that we are seeing one of the greats of English crickets in the making here...and I seriously believe that Freddie could become a great. By this, I'm talking better than Botham...
Obviously he has a lot to do on the bowling front but I'd say his batting, at its best, is better than Beefy.
Obviously he has a lot to do on the bowling front but I'd say his batting, at its best, is better than Beefy.
Swervy
International Captain
maybe this isnt just form...maybe he is now realising his potential, we may not have seen Flintoff get to his true purple patch yet...I say this because this kind of batting from him has been going for a good 12 months now,which is surely more than just formRichard said:
