London: Sir Garfield Sobers has rated Andrew Flintoff as a better all-rounder than Ian Botham, saying the current England skipper's ability to make things happen on the field weighed the scale in his favour.

"The way Flintoff plays inspires belief in the rest of his team, and he drags them with him. He can now go out and run it around, play himself in, and then attack," he said.

"Ian didn't make things happen, he'd go out and smack it about, and if it didn't come off, that was just the way he played," he was quoted as saying by cricinfo website on Tuesday.

However, Sobers said captaincy might affect Flintoff in the upcoming Ashes battle with Australia.

"Flintoff must learn to manage the different situations, when is the right time to bowl himself and when is the right time to hold back."

Sobers said the absence of paceman Simon Jones, who played a big role in England's Ashes triumph in 2005, would add to the weight on Flintoff's shoulders. — PTI

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