Armchair Loyalist
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- Jul 26, 2004
- 210
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Freddy Flintoff Retires
- Thread starter Armchair Loyalist
- Start date
crodonilson
He/Him
Andrew Frederick Flintoff
Flintoff set to retire
A true ambassador to the game and to our country, a great bloke into the bargain and a fantastic sportsman. Injuries dealt him a cruel blow time and time again and prevented him from being one of the all time greats in the game, the cricketing family is a poorer place without him.
Flintoff set to retire
A true ambassador to the game and to our country, a great bloke into the bargain and a fantastic sportsman. Injuries dealt him a cruel blow time and time again and prevented him from being one of the all time greats in the game, the cricketing family is a poorer place without him.
porkypie
On the road to no where
Flintoff retires
From all forms of cricket!
From all forms of cricket!
Left Footer
Well-known member
no surprise with his fitness record but the closest to Sir Ian Botham for a long time.
Worthai Seagull
Wenners
Thanks for the memories....a giant !
No real surprise but sad nevertheless.
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[yt]FhHTm9d3iNg[/yt]
Tooting Gull
Well-known member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,033
Flintoff has made a huge mark, no doubt about that. If you look purely at his stats, you could wonder what all the fuss was about. But he was a lot more than those, Test cricket is often about big personalities stepping up at the key moments against the best opposition, and he did that on many occasions, plus fans respond to someone who loves the big occasion rather than shrinks from it. You've either got it, or you haven't.
The last Ashes captaincy Down Under was the only real blemish on his career, and I'd put the blame more on those who made the decision, which was ridiculous. You aren't going to turn it down if offered.
The last Ashes captaincy Down Under was the only real blemish on his career, and I'd put the blame more on those who made the decision, which was ridiculous. You aren't going to turn it down if offered.
Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 30,799
Sad, but inevitable. This day was always gonna come.
Gritt23
New member
A tremendous player, who performed miles beyond what the stats show.
He finally put to rest the search for "the next Botham" and now the inevitable comparisons begin for every up and coming all-rounder. He's the benchmark now, and will be a very tough act to follow.
Thanks Andres, it's be great fun.
He finally put to rest the search for "the next Botham" and now the inevitable comparisons begin for every up and coming all-rounder. He's the benchmark now, and will be a very tough act to follow.
Thanks Andres, it's be great fun.
mcshane in the 79th
New member
- Nov 4, 2005
- 10,485
Hopefully now he can concentrate on producing fine television such as Sky 1's BRILLIANT A League Of Their Own and really make a name for himself.
Herne Hill Seagull
Well-known member
Boys and girls, I hope you'll excuse and forgive a moment of extreme self-indulgence here, as I post my blog entry tribute to the great man. For reasons that will be obvious to anybody who bothers to read what follows, he's a cricketer who inspires particularly warm, fuzzy feelings in yours truly. For those who can't be bothered - well, I can't say I blame you - it's pretty verbose by NSC standards.
---------------------------
One of the greatest spectating moments in my life occurred at the Oval in the decisive Test of the last home Ashes series. A full house that was as pumped as a football crowd when the teams came out, knowing that they could be there to witness the Ashes regained, had been quietened by a long partnership between Australia's admirable skipper Ricky Ponting and Hussey, who between them had added 127 for the third wicket. They looked set fair to bat deep into the day, frustrate England and deny a full house the chance to see the urn lifted.
Step forward Freddie Flintoff. A direct hit from mid-off as the Aussies run for what looks like a straightforward single sends the off-stump cartwheeling and Ponting back to the pavilion. The run-out had to be checked by the fourth umpire but Flintoff knew, already knew, that he had his man. Standing with both arms in the air on the last day of his Test career, the stage was his and he'd turned the Test back towards England in an instant. It was a fantastic moment, a colossus of world cricket standing like a victorious invading king, dominating a stage suitably grand to host his talent and his impact on the game.
So I got to see England lift the urn on the fourth day of the fifth Test of the 2009 series, comfortably the best moment of a long few months which saw me out of work, in debt to friends and family and generally feeling at a low ebb. All that, everything, just for a few glorious hours, was forgotten, and with the exception of those clad in green and gold in that stadium, spirits were lifted into the stratosphere by a team galvanised by another moment of genius from a man who'd provided so many of them.
Flintoff was hugely popular not just because of his ability but because of the man he was, and is. A modern-day Botham, unpredictable, unconventional, aggressive, intimidating to play against, and with, I wouldn't be surprised to hear. He battled gibes about his weight early in his career, the disapproval of the men in suits (and his own coach) with his off the field antics and the expectation of the most boisterous and numerous supporters in Test cricket. Cricket fans loved him because he came across as one of us, but with all the talent we weren't born with, collectively, distilled into him. He was seen basically shit-faced on the celebratory open-topped bus after the 2005 Ashes series victory. What a disgrace, the stuffed shirts said. What a hero, the equally inebriated fans thought - he's celebrating as hard as we are, there's a man who knows how much it means to people because it means as much to him.
For me the moment which defines him as a great is the iconic shot of him consoling Brett Lee in the immediate aftermath of England's victory in the Edgbaston Test of that never-to-be-forgotten 2005 series. Australia so nearly hung on to dash England's hopes of victory, only to be denied, desperately, at the last. Amid wild celebration, Flintoff took a moment to console Brett Lee and congratulate him on what he'd come so close to achieving. It showed, in one moment, that Freddie Flintoff understands cricket better than anybody who'd criticised him for any of what they thought of as his misdemeanours, and fully deserves the plaudits that will doubtless rain down on him now. Enjoy your retirement, Fred.
---------------------------
One of the greatest spectating moments in my life occurred at the Oval in the decisive Test of the last home Ashes series. A full house that was as pumped as a football crowd when the teams came out, knowing that they could be there to witness the Ashes regained, had been quietened by a long partnership between Australia's admirable skipper Ricky Ponting and Hussey, who between them had added 127 for the third wicket. They looked set fair to bat deep into the day, frustrate England and deny a full house the chance to see the urn lifted.
Step forward Freddie Flintoff. A direct hit from mid-off as the Aussies run for what looks like a straightforward single sends the off-stump cartwheeling and Ponting back to the pavilion. The run-out had to be checked by the fourth umpire but Flintoff knew, already knew, that he had his man. Standing with both arms in the air on the last day of his Test career, the stage was his and he'd turned the Test back towards England in an instant. It was a fantastic moment, a colossus of world cricket standing like a victorious invading king, dominating a stage suitably grand to host his talent and his impact on the game.
So I got to see England lift the urn on the fourth day of the fifth Test of the 2009 series, comfortably the best moment of a long few months which saw me out of work, in debt to friends and family and generally feeling at a low ebb. All that, everything, just for a few glorious hours, was forgotten, and with the exception of those clad in green and gold in that stadium, spirits were lifted into the stratosphere by a team galvanised by another moment of genius from a man who'd provided so many of them.
Flintoff was hugely popular not just because of his ability but because of the man he was, and is. A modern-day Botham, unpredictable, unconventional, aggressive, intimidating to play against, and with, I wouldn't be surprised to hear. He battled gibes about his weight early in his career, the disapproval of the men in suits (and his own coach) with his off the field antics and the expectation of the most boisterous and numerous supporters in Test cricket. Cricket fans loved him because he came across as one of us, but with all the talent we weren't born with, collectively, distilled into him. He was seen basically shit-faced on the celebratory open-topped bus after the 2005 Ashes series victory. What a disgrace, the stuffed shirts said. What a hero, the equally inebriated fans thought - he's celebrating as hard as we are, there's a man who knows how much it means to people because it means as much to him.
For me the moment which defines him as a great is the iconic shot of him consoling Brett Lee in the immediate aftermath of England's victory in the Edgbaston Test of that never-to-be-forgotten 2005 series. Australia so nearly hung on to dash England's hopes of victory, only to be denied, desperately, at the last. Amid wild celebration, Flintoff took a moment to console Brett Lee and congratulate him on what he'd come so close to achieving. It showed, in one moment, that Freddie Flintoff understands cricket better than anybody who'd criticised him for any of what they thought of as his misdemeanours, and fully deserves the plaudits that will doubtless rain down on him now. Enjoy your retirement, Fred.
Worthai Seagull
Wenners
Boys and girls, I hope you'll excuse and forgive a moment of extreme self-indulgence here, as I post my blog entry tribute to the great man. For reasons that will be obvious to anybody who bothers to read what follows, he's a cricketer who inspires particularly warm, fuzzy feelings in yours truly. For those who can't be bothered - well, I can't say I blame you - it's pretty verbose by NSC standards.
---------------------------
One of the greatest spectating moments in my life occurred at the Oval in the decisive Test of the last home Ashes series. A full house that was as pumped as a football crowd when the teams came out, knowing that they could be there to witness the Ashes regained, had been quietened by a long partnership between Australia's admirable skipper Ricky Ponting and Hussey, who between them had added 127 for the third wicket. They looked set fair to bat deep into the day, frustrate England and deny a full house the chance to see the urn lifted.
Step forward Freddie Flintoff. A direct hit from mid-off as the Aussies run for what looks like a straightforward single sends the off-stump cartwheeling and Ponting back to the pavilion. The run-out had to be checked by the fourth umpire but Flintoff knew, already knew, that he had his man. Standing with both arms in the air on the last day of his Test career, the stage was his and he'd turned the Test back towards England in an instant. It was a fantastic moment, a colossus of world cricket standing like a victorious invading king, dominating a stage suitably grand to host his talent and his impact on the game.
So I got to see England lift the urn on the fourth day of the fifth Test of the 2009 series, comfortably the best moment of a long few months which saw me out of work, in debt to friends and family and generally feeling at a low ebb. All that, everything, just for a few glorious hours, was forgotten, and with the exception of those clad in green and gold in that stadium, spirits were lifted into the stratosphere by a team galvanised by another moment of genius from a man who'd provided so many of them.
Flintoff was hugely popular not just because of his ability but because of the man he was, and is. A modern-day Botham, unpredictable, unconventional, aggressive, intimidating to play against, and with, I wouldn't be surprised to hear. He battled gibes about his weight early in his career, the disapproval of the men in suits (and his own coach) with his off the field antics and the expectation of the most boisterous and numerous supporters in Test cricket. Cricket fans loved him because he came across as one of us, but with all the talent we weren't born with, collectively, distilled into him. He was seen basically shit-faced on the celebratory open-topped bus after the 2005 Ashes series victory. What a disgrace, the stuffed shirts said. What a hero, the equally inebriated fans thought - he's celebrating as hard as we are, there's a man who knows how much it means to people because it means as much to him.
For me the moment which defines him as a great is the iconic shot of him consoling Brett Lee in the immediate aftermath of England's victory in the Edgbaston Test of that never-to-be-forgotten 2005 series. Australia so nearly hung on to dash England's hopes of victory, only to be denied, desperately, at the last. Amid wild celebration, Flintoff took a moment to console Brett Lee and congratulate him on what he'd come so close to achieving. It showed, in one moment, that Freddie Flintoff understands cricket better than anybody who'd criticised him for any of what they thought of as his misdemeanours, and fully deserves the plaudits that will doubtless rain down on him now. Enjoy your retirement, Fred.
And that....is brilliant !
7:18
Brighton & Hove Albion
very sad, always admired Freddy
rcf0712
Out Here In The Perimeter
Shame, I had this stupid and totally unrealistic dream he'd somehow make it into the Ashes team - got my ticket for the 3rd test in Perth today, can't wait.....
