Andrew Flintoff Vows to Finish the Ashes Job After Lord's Heroics
Andrew Flintoff has pledged to play through the pain in the last three Ashes Tests after bowling England to victory at Lord's
Andrew Flintoff last night pledged himself to complete the Ashes series after his heroic bowling performance had inspired England to their first victory over Australia at Lord's for 75 years. Flintoff bowled flat out and unchanged for 10 overs from the Pavilion End, taking three for 43 to complete figures of five for 92 as England won by 115 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
With Graeme Swann picking up the other two wickets it was all over 17 minutes before lunch. It was Flintoff's third five-wicket return for England and his first since the 2005 Ashes.
He dismissed widespread speculation this would be his last Test. "I said before this match that these were going to be my last four Test matches," he said. "I've got three to go. I will do anything to get out on the field and finish this series."
England's team director, Andy Flower, said after the game that Flintoff's fitness would be monitored carefully. "He's got to be able to guarantee he can last a full game," he said. "We'll get medical advice to see if that is a probability." Flower is also concerned about Kevin Pietersen's achilles problem. "He's been struggling with that achilles and been in a lot of pain. There is a break between the second and third Tests to assess how he is," he said.
Of the two Flintoff looks England's more potent match-winner. His right knee has replaced his left ankle as the body part selectors and supporters are most worried about and he had injections before this game. The player himself feels confident that his fitness will hold out. "The encouraging thing from my point of view is that I bowled all my overs. I was in a bit of discomfort but I've played most of my career in discomfort. So that's nothing new.
"I know where I am with it. There are a couple of twinges in the knee. However, it's encouraging that I can run in and bowl the number of overs I have done today. It bodes well for three more Test matches. I want to play a major part in them and in the team's success. It's not my intention to bow out at Lord's. I want to be in an Ashes-winning team come the last Test at The Oval. That would be the perfect way to go."
The opposing captain, Ricky Ponting, placed Flintoff alongside the world's best fast bowlers of recent years for being able to deliver a spell of sustained pace and aggression. "Curtly Ambrose wasn't bad at it, Courtney Walsh wasn't bad at it, Wasim Akram wasn't bad at it. We've all faced great bowling attacks.
"We've all encountered very good spells of fast bowling throughout our careers. There's no doubt when Andrew's up and running, and there's a game on the line, he's the one who wants the ball, and I guess the England captain is always going to throw him the ball in that situation.
"He did what we expected him to do through the course of this game. We heard with his retirement that he was going to give his absolute all for the remaining few Test matches, and he's started off well again in this game."
This is the first time since 1997 that England have taken a 1-0 lead in an Ashes series. But Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin had played so well on Sunday that it gave Australia far-fetched hopes of pulling off a breathtaking win by achieving a record fourth-innings target.
England's captain, Andrew Strauss, admitted yesterday that his sleep had been disturbed the night before. "But I was still very confident that we were going to turn up and win today. As is always the case when you play in an Ashes Test, there are always twists and turns.
"We put the Aussies under pressure for the first 3½ days. They always come back at you at some stage and they did that yesterday. But to go 1-0 up is all we can ask for. And if we continue to play that consistent, positive cricket, we'll put them under pressure again."
With Graeme Swann picking up the other two wickets it was all over 17 minutes before lunch. It was Flintoff's third five-wicket return for England and his first since the 2005 Ashes.
He dismissed widespread speculation this would be his last Test. "I said before this match that these were going to be my last four Test matches," he said. "I've got three to go. I will do anything to get out on the field and finish this series."
England's team director, Andy Flower, said after the game that Flintoff's fitness would be monitored carefully. "He's got to be able to guarantee he can last a full game," he said. "We'll get medical advice to see if that is a probability." Flower is also concerned about Kevin Pietersen's achilles problem. "He's been struggling with that achilles and been in a lot of pain. There is a break between the second and third Tests to assess how he is," he said.
Of the two Flintoff looks England's more potent match-winner. His right knee has replaced his left ankle as the body part selectors and supporters are most worried about and he had injections before this game. The player himself feels confident that his fitness will hold out. "The encouraging thing from my point of view is that I bowled all my overs. I was in a bit of discomfort but I've played most of my career in discomfort. So that's nothing new.
"I know where I am with it. There are a couple of twinges in the knee. However, it's encouraging that I can run in and bowl the number of overs I have done today. It bodes well for three more Test matches. I want to play a major part in them and in the team's success. It's not my intention to bow out at Lord's. I want to be in an Ashes-winning team come the last Test at The Oval. That would be the perfect way to go."
The opposing captain, Ricky Ponting, placed Flintoff alongside the world's best fast bowlers of recent years for being able to deliver a spell of sustained pace and aggression. "Curtly Ambrose wasn't bad at it, Courtney Walsh wasn't bad at it, Wasim Akram wasn't bad at it. We've all faced great bowling attacks.
"We've all encountered very good spells of fast bowling throughout our careers. There's no doubt when Andrew's up and running, and there's a game on the line, he's the one who wants the ball, and I guess the England captain is always going to throw him the ball in that situation.
"He did what we expected him to do through the course of this game. We heard with his retirement that he was going to give his absolute all for the remaining few Test matches, and he's started off well again in this game."
This is the first time since 1997 that England have taken a 1-0 lead in an Ashes series. But Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin had played so well on Sunday that it gave Australia far-fetched hopes of pulling off a breathtaking win by achieving a record fourth-innings target.
England's captain, Andrew Strauss, admitted yesterday that his sleep had been disturbed the night before. "But I was still very confident that we were going to turn up and win today. As is always the case when you play in an Ashes Test, there are always twists and turns.
"We put the Aussies under pressure for the first 3½ days. They always come back at you at some stage and they did that yesterday. But to go 1-0 up is all we can ask for. And if we continue to play that consistent, positive cricket, we'll put them under pressure again."
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