Andrew Flintoff

Profile:

Andrew "Freddy" Flintoff uses all his size - he is 6'4" tall and powerfully built - to hit the ball as hard as anyone in the game today. A useful and economical fast-medium bowler, his development has been hindered by back trouble. His batting can be explosive, but he has learnt patience when conditions do not suit all-out attack. He plays straight, and times the ball well. Particularly strong off the front foot, he can also cut, and pulls savagely.

Flintoff debuted for Lancashire in 1995, and in 1998 his early season performances earned him a place in the Test side. He played in the final two Tests against South Africa, but took little part in England's thrilling success, bagging a pair in the fifth Test. He was the 50th winner of the Young Player of the Year Award from the Cricket Writers' Club, but by the end of the season he was out of form with bat and ball, and considered himself fortunate to be selected for the 1998-99 England A tour.

Flintoff made the most of his opportunity, and earned a place in England's one day squad for Sharjah (where he scored 50 against Pakistan on his debut) and the 1999 World Cup. Although he made no great impact on the latter tournament, his reputation as a big hitter in county cricket continued to grow. He scored 143 off just 66 balls, including nine sixes, against Essex at Chelmsford, and in the Roses match at Old Trafford he made 160, 111 of them coming before lunch. His hundred off 61 balls against Gloucestershire at Bristol won him the EDS Walter Lawrence Trophy for the fastest first-class century of the season.

On such enormous potential Flintoff was included in the senior England squad to tour South Africa. After making some promising batting contributions early in the series, he was forced to return home early after breaking a foot in the fourth Test at Cape Town. He had scored 155 runs at 25 from four Tests, taking five wickets at 38. Indifferent performances followed in the home series against Zimbabwe, and the first Test against the West Indies was Flintoff's last of the 2000 summer. To his chagrin, he found his weight and lifestyle to be under scrutiny after a newspaper article accused him of living off fast food.

Craig White's emergence as an England bowler left Flintoff somewhat fortunate to make the 2000-01 tour party, but he began with a flourish in Pakistan, scoring 84 from just 60 balls to take England past the home team's total of 304 in the first one-day international in Karachi. It was a vintage innings and his highest ODI score, but turned out to be his only major contribution. A long-standing back problem prevented him from bowling, and forced his withdrawal from the Test series. His place was taken by Alex Tudor.

Flintoff was flown out to Sri Lanka in March 2001 to play in the one-day series there, but took no part in the international summer at home. He was recalled to the England squad for October's short tour of Zimbabwe, where he did enough to secure selection in the winter ODI squad to tour India and New Zealand. He was then added to the Test squad, initially to bolster England's bowling resources in India. It proved to be a shrewd decision by the England management, and resulted in Flintoff making genuine strides towards international stardom. With a remodelled bowling action he finished third in the Test averages in India. He then made a telling contribution to the one-day series, in which Nasser Hussain was not afraid to bowl him at the death.

After an indifferent winter with the bat up to the Test series in New Zealand, Flintoff then broke through in magnificent style. He made his first Test century at Christchurch, eventually reaching 137 off 163 balls, and shared in a 281-run partnership with Graham Thorpe which effectively won England the game. His 75 in the next Test at Wellington was explosive, coming off 44 balls with nine fours and two sixes. At Auckland he was surely the victim of one of the worst decisions in Test history, given out caught behind by umpire Doug Cowie on 29 when the ball passed several inches away from his bat. However no England player had made more progress during the winter, which Flintoff finished as his country's premier all-rounder.