Lancs CEO defends Flintoff

Lancashire CEO Jim Cumbes has hit back at comments made by Michael Vaughan blaming England’s poor display at the World Cup on Andrew Flintoff.

Vaughan made headlines yesterday when he told an English paper that the pedalo incident in which all-rounder Andrew Flintoff had to be rescued at sea in the middle of the night, changed the course of England’s World Cup campaign, for the worse.

However, Cumbes, the head of Flintoff’s county club Lancashire rejected the comments and hit back at the England captain in an interview with the BBC.

“I was absolutely staggered when I read that, I just couldn’t believe it,” Cumbes said.

“It’s despicable against a guy like Fred, who over the last few years has given England blood. Rule one of any sport is that you don’t slag your team-mates in public.

“I think Fred will be bitterly hurt by this, because the last thing he would dream of doing is let his team-mates down. Of course he wants to do well individually, but he wants to do well for his team-mates. He’s played when he’s been unfit and forced himself through it. He was the talisman in the Ashes series.”