Cricket: Strauss Defends Under-fire Flintoff

Andrew Strauss yesterday joined the queue of England players showing their support for the captaincy of Andrew Flintoff after criticism that Sri Lanka were let off the hook on the final day of the Lord’s Test.

Steve Harmison defended his best friend in the game on Wednesday and yesterday it was the turn of one of those fancied to replace Flintoff, should the Lancashire all-rounder decide that bowling, batting and leading the side is too much for him.

Flintoff has been criticised for underbowling Monty Panesar, who had only six overs on Monday, but Strauss said that the nine catches dropped off the seamers were more to blame.

"A lot has been made of that last day but I think it is very important to realise that the weather was always likely to play a part," said Strauss. "There was a feeling that we had to wrap it up sooner rather than later and as a captain it makes it very, very difficult. What he did and what most captains would do is turn to their most threatening bowlers. If we had taken our chances we would have wrapped up the game a long time before the end. The fact is that we had 28 chances to take 20 wickets and we didn’t do it."

Strauss also denied that Flintoff had overbowled himself. "Fred has got a very good cricket brain and I’m sure he will know when to bowl himself."

The former India captain Sourav Ganguly will play for Northamptonshire as a temporary replacement for the Australian batsman Chris Rogers. Frozen out of the national side in February, the 33-year-old is due to arrive in Britain on June 15 for his five-week stint. Rogers has been called up for Australia A duty. "A player of Ganguly’s stature and experience would be a great asset to the club," said Mark Tagg, the Northants chief executive. This will be Ganguly’s third stint in county cricket, after spells at Lancashire in 2000 and Glamorgan last season.