The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Flintoff flaunts his prowess

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 31, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Flintoff flaunts his prowess

By Ted Corbett

BIRMINGHAM, JULY 30. England's new hero Andrew Flintoff hit his second hundred in six Tests as England again thrashed the West Indies bowling around Edgbaston on the second day of the second Test.

More important in the long run, Flintoff established another tall tale about his prowess as he was dropped by his own father Colin who was sitting in the front row of the Ryder Stand when his son powered one of his huge drives into a pair of hands reputed to be bigger than his son's.

Considering that there were probably 15,000 people in the ground it was an amazing coincidence. Colin still plays third team club cricket in the Preston area of north Lancashire.

"I saw the ball off the bat and all the way into my left hand, but somehow I contrived to drop it," he said. "It bounced right into the lap of Michael Vaughan's mother who was sitting in the next seat."

That is a story of Ian Botham proportions but there is another side to this remarkable innings. Apart from the seven 6s and seventeen 4s which built his highest score Flintoff also played in such a sensible and sober way that he can now be considered the England No. 6 by rights and not just as a stop-gap.

Consistency, which was no more than a notion to Flintoff a year ago, is now his middle name. When he reached fifty today he had hit half centuries in six successive Tests, a feat only surpassed by Alec Stewart, Graham Gooch and Wally Hammond who have all eight successive fifties to their credit.

One day we will have to decide where he stands in the pantheon of great all-rounders. Why not begin now. Is he ever likely to be as good as Botham, Gary Sobers, Keith Miller, Kapil Dev or Imran Khan?

Today, as he smote this wretched attack around Edgbaston there was a temptation to compare him with Richard the Lionheart, King Arthur of the Round Table and Robin Hood.

Ally that to his bowling this summer which has brought him 14 wickets at 22 — and his slip catching when those huge hands handed down from his butterfinger father cling on to everything — and you have the new Ian Botham, a giant figure.

At 26 Flintoff has the globe at his feet and who knows how many distinctions lined up before he retires.

New record

Today he took a fresh guard when he reached his century and continued to pick between good and bad deliveries with certainty. Even if you admire West Indies cricket as much as I do, it has to be said that there were many more bad balls than good so that Flintoff and Geraint Jones put on 84 in the first hour and set a new record against West Indies with a sixth-wicket stand of 170.

Jones is unlikely to be remembered for his fine 74 but the whole England team now plays in Flintoff's considerable shadow.

Of the West Indians, only Ramnaresh Sarwan bowled presentably, although when Dwayne Bravo had Ashley Giles caught he had three for 55 off 18 overs.

Flintoff's fifth six off an Omari Banks over took him past150, his sixth gave him 159, then he played two dot balls and hit his seventh far beyond the square leg boundary. After 19 off that over England was 520 but a straight ball from Bravo — how does he do it? — had Flintoff lbw. Steve Harmison began with a reverse sweep for four and finished with 31, his highest Test score.

England had 566 for nine when it declared, its third score beyond 500 this summer.

In five overs to tea West Indies lost Devon Smith, caught overhead by Giles at gully and Chris Gayle bowled round his legs — both to Matthew Hoggard in nine balls — for 24. Edgbaston's reputation for short run Tests will remain intact.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport