Andrew Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff

Flintoff at the Adelaide Oval in 2006
Personal information
Full name	Andrew Flintoff
Born	(1977-12-06) 6 December 1977 Preston, Lancashire, England
Nickname	Freddie
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap  591)	23 July 1998 v South Africa
Last Test	20 August 2009 v Australia
ODI debut (cap  154)	7 April 1999 v Pakistan
Last ODI	3 April 2009 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1995–2010	Lancashire
2009	Chennai Super Kings
Career statistics
Competition Test ODIs FC LA Matches 79 141 183 282 Runs scored 3,845 3,394 9,027 6,641 Batting average 31.77 32.01 33.80 29.78 100s/50s 5/26 3/18 15/53 6/34 Top score 167 123 167 1 Balls bowled 14,951 5,624 22,799 9,416 Wickets 226 168 350 289 Bowling average 32.78 24.38 31.59 22.61 5 wickets in innings 3 2 4 2 10 wickets in match 0 n/a 0 n/a Best bowling 5/58 5/19 5/24 5/19 Catches/ stumpings 52/– 47/– 185/– 106/–
Source: CricketArchive, 29 August 2009

Statistics
Real name	Andrew Flintoff
Nickname(s)	Freddie
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nationality	English
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	1
Wins	1
Wins by KO	0
Losses	0

Andrew Flintoff, MBE (born 6 December 1977), is an English professional boxer and retired professional cricketer. Flintoff played cricket for Lancashire, Chennai Super Kings and England.

A tall (6' 4") fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff was consistently rated by the ICC as being among the top international allrounders in both ODI and Test cricket. Following his debut in 1998, he became an integral player for England, serving as both captain and vice-captain of the team. However, he suffered regular injuries throughout his international career, often due to his heavy frame and bowling action. During the period 2007–09 he played in only 13 of England's 36 Test matches, but nevertheless remained a core member of the England squad, being selected whenever available.

On 15 July 2009 he announced his retirement from Test cricket at the conclusion of the 2009 Ashes series, on 24 August, and although he made himself available for future commitments in One Day International and Twenty20 International matches, it was reported on 7 September 2009 that he had developed deep vein thrombosis after surgery to his knee, and on 16 September 2010, he announced his retirement from all cricket. He made his professional boxing debut on 30 November 2012 in Manchester, beating American Richard Dawson on a points decision.

Professional career

Early years: criticism, injury and fitness troubles

Flintoff was captain of the England Under-19 team for their "Test" match tour to Pakistan in 1996/7 and at home against Zimbabwe in 1997. He made his Test match debut for England in 1998 against South Africa at Trent Bridge, in a match remembered for its second-innings duel between Mike Atherton and Allan Donald; in a precursor to their subsequent all-round rivalry, Flintoff and Jacques Kallis exchanged wickets. Nonetheless, his struggle to make the grade at county level continued, he found form only intermittently, though often explosively when he did so.

In 2000 he hit 135 not out in the Quarter-finals of the Natwest Trophy against Surrey, which David Gower described as "the most awesome innings we are ever going to see on a cricket field". In the same year England's management made clear they were unhappy with his fitness and weight, Flintoff responded to his critics with 42 not out in a one day game against Zimbabwe on his home ground of Old Trafford, forming an explosive second wicket stand with Graeme Hick; as he collected the Man of the Match award he remarked his performance was "not bad for a fat lad".

Although he lost his England place during 2001, he remodelled his bowling action and gained a place on the 2001–02 tour to India. Though he hit possibly his worst international batting form during the Test series, frustrating him to the point that he broke down in tears in the dressing room at one stage, he later saw the tour as a turning point in his career, specifically the crucial final one-day match. Entrusted with bowling the final over with India needing 11 to win, he ran out Anil Kumble and bowled Javagal Srinath with successive balls to win the match, taking off his shirt in celebration, which was mimicked by Sourav Ganguly in a later match.

Improved consistency, step-up to key international player

In 2002 he scored his maiden Test century. By 2003, a newer, fitter Flintoff started to justify the comparisons with Botham. Up to the end of 2002, he had averaged just 19 with the bat and 47 with the ball; from 2003 to the end of the 2005 Ashes series, the corresponding figures were 43 and 28. In the summer of 2003 he scored a century and three fifties in the 5 Test series against South Africa at home, and continued to excel on the tour of the West Indies in March and April 2004, taking five wickets in the Test in Barbados, and scoring a century in Antigua. In early 2004 he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year, having failed to make Wisden's top 40 list in 2002.

Although injury prevented him from bowling, he was called into the England squad for the 2004 Nat West One Day International (ODI) Series against New Zealand and the West Indies as a specialist batsman, scoring two consecutive centuries in the series and hitting seven sixes in one innings.

He matched this haul in the Second Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston in July, hitting a first-class best figure of 167. During this innings, watched by a crowd of 20,000, Flintoff hit a six into the top tier of the Ryder Stand. A man stood to claim the catch and dropped it - it was Flintoff's father. Over the course of England's record-breaking summer, he hit a half-century in all seven victorious Tests against New Zealand and the West Indies. On returning to the one-day game as an all-rounder in September he fell agonising short of a third one-day century, caught on 99 against India, though he went on to hit a further century in the ICC Champions Trophy pool match against Sri Lanka two weeks later.

At the end of the season he was named as the inaugural winner of the ICC Award for one-day player of the year, and the Professional Cricketers' Association player of the year. He also became a father when his fiancée Rachael Wools gave birth to Holly on 6 September. They now have a second child, Corey, who was born during the series in India in 2006. Freddie briefly returned home from the tour to see his son for the first time and did not miss any matches in the process.

2005: Ashes winner

Following the Test series in South Africa in December 2004 and January 2005, Flintoff flew home for surgery on his left ankle, leading to worries he might not regain fitness in time for The Ashes. In fact, following a rehabilitation programme of swimming and hill-walking, he recovered ahead of schedule and was able to return to action for Lancashire in April.

In the Second Test against Australia at Edgbaston in August 2005, he broke Ian Botham's 1981 record of six sixes in an Ashes Test Match with five in the first innings, and a further four in the second innings, 141 runs in total. In the same game he took a total of 7 wickets (across both innings), including the wickets of Langer and Ponting in his first over in Australia's run-chase. He managed all this despite a shoulder injury early in the second innings. England won the game by the narrowest of margins – just 2 runs, and saved their hopes of regaining the Ashes. Flintoff was named 'Man of the Match' and captain Michael Vaughan subsequently dubbed the match "Fred's Test" in honour of his achievement.

Flintoff scored a century during England's crucial win at Trent Bridge. He took 5 wickets on the fourth day of the final Test match, enabling England to go off for bad light and helping them to eventually secure a draw and regain the Ashes.

For his achievements throughout the 2005 Ashes series, he was named as "Man of the Series" by Australian coach, John Buchanan. His achievement also won him the inaugural Compton-Miller Medal. He was also awarded the Freedom of the City of Preston.

In October 2005, Flintoff shared the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC player of the year award with Jacques Kallis of South Africa. In December 2005, Flintoff was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2005, the first cricketer since Botham in 1981. In the New Year's Honours List for 2006, Flintoff was appointed an MBE for his role in the successful Ashes side. In January 2006, Flintoff was presented with Freedom of the City award for Preston, Lancashire. The award was presented to Flintoff by the Mayor of Preston. Other recipients of the award include Sir Tom Finney and Nick Park.

England captaincy

In February 2006, following England captain Michael Vaughan and vice-captain Marcus Trescothick becoming unavailable for the first Test match against India, Flintoff was named captain of the England team and subsequently announced that he would be staying in India for the entire Test series, although he and his wife were expecting their second child. His wife gave birth to a son, Corey, shortly before the second Test on 9 March.

On the field, Flintoff was seen as a great success during the drawn series with India, with a 212-run victory in Mumbai. His contributions with both bat and ball ensured that he was named as the player of the series, with many commentators seeing Flintoff as someone who not only worked better under the responsibility but was also viewed as a great influence of an inexperienced side, which included many debutants, such as Alastair Cook, Owais Shah and Monty Panesar. Flintoff amassed four fifties in the series, and took 11 wickets, on unfriendly surfaces for seamers. Flintoff continued to captain England during the seven ODIs in India, although he was rested for two matches. Sri Lanka toured in May and England drew the three-Test series 1–1. The series took a heavy toll on Flintoff physically, and journalist David Hopps remarked

By the end of the series, Flintoff was also a crock, succumbing to a further ankle injury that put his role in the winter's Ashes in doubt. Could this be traced back to the opening Test at Lord's when, in his first serious bowl of the season, and somewhat above his fighting weight, he bowled an excessive 68.3 overs and nothing above 85mph? He had gone from shock bowler to stock bowler – under his own captaincy, too.

A recurrence of his long-term ankle problem in the Test series meant Flintoff missed both the ODI series against Sri Lanka, and the first Test against Pakistan. It was later announced in July that Flintoff's rehabilitation had not been sufficient to quell the injury, and that further surgery would be required. He was thus ruled out for the entire series against Pakistan. Despite injury concerns, Flintoff was later named for the ICC Champions Trophy, where he played as a specialist batsman, not as an all-rounder.

2006–07 Ashes series

After his previous stint as captain in the Test series against India, Flintoff returned as captain of the England team for the eagerly anticipated 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia. The series turned out to be a humiliating one for Flintoff, leading his side to five straight losses and thus losing the Ashes after having held them for the shortest time in history. In addition, he presided over England's worst ever defeat in an Ashes series, equalling the 1921 whitewash at the hands of the Warwick Armstrong-led Australian team in the wake of World War I.

Flintoff's own play in the 2006–07 series, both bowling and at the crease, was generally deemed disappointing. He made only two scores over 50 in the series, his best bowling figures were 4/99 in the first innings of the First Test in Brisbane, and he failed to get 5 wickets in a match. Flintoff played in only one first-class game in the lead up to the series. He was initially undone by Australia's excellent seam bowling but his batting improved throughout the series as he got more match practice. A persistent ankle injury prevented Flintoff from bowling long spells at full pace and Australia's batsmen took advantage of this. According to Nasser Hussain during the tour he also had three or four warnings for inappropriate behaviour and binge drinking, including arriving hungover for a training session.

Flintoff also captained England for several of the subsequent 2006-07 Commonwealth Bank Series One Day International matches. Michael Vaughan's return from knee surgery was cut short by a hamstring injury and he was only able to play two matches, leaving Flintoff in charge for the remaining games. England qualified in the last game of eight group matches for the best-of-three finals against Australia, but reversed their poor form on tour with a 2–0 series win in the finals.

Flintoff contributed significantly with the ball in both matches, taking three wickets in the first match and allowing only 10 runs off 5 overs in the second as Australia chased a reduced total in a rain-hit match.

2007 Cricket World Cup

With Michael Vaughan returning from injury for the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, Flintoff was replaced as captain but appointed England's vice-captain.

In the opening match of the tournament against New Zealand Flintoff was out first ball in England's innings and failed to take a wicket, although his bowling was very economical conceding only 17 runs in 8 overs, and he took a stunning one-handed catch at slip to dismiss Ross Taylor for a duck. On the evening of England's defeat Flintoff – along with some other players and coaches from the England squad – indulged in some late night drinking in a night club, only two days before their vital match against Canada. In the early hours of the morning he was reported as having to be rescued after falling off a pedalo – this quickly became known in the media as the "Fredalo" incident (a portmanteau of "Freddie" and "pedalo"). Flintoff and the others involved were reprimanded and fined and with Flintoff being stripped of the vice-captaincy and, in addition, he was suspended for the match against Canada. It was revealed by England coach Duncan Fletcher that Flintoff had had a number of previous warnings about his behaviour. Flintoff has since issued a public apology, and later also clarified that he didn't actually "fall off" a pedalo, but rather failed in an attempt to board one.

Flintoff returned to the England team for the last group match against Kenya, taking two wickets. In the Super 8 matches, Flintoff often excelled with the ball but failed to recover his batting form. Against Ireland he took 4–43 and scored 43 runs; against Sri Lanka he took 3–35 but was out for 2 and against Australia he took 1–35 but was out for 4. In the next match against Bangladesh Flintoff took 1–38 in 8 overs and scored 23 runs off 21 balls. Ultimately, he failed to influence an ailing English side and had a poor tournament. Michael Vaughan later commented that Flintoff's pedalo antics had adversely affected team morale.

2007–09: Injuries, comeback, and retirement

Flintoff returned for a couple of games with Lancashire, in preparation for the West Indies tour of England but he re-injured his ankle and was ruled out for the first Test which started on 17 May 2007. Having undergone another operation on the troublesome ankle, he missed the whole Test and one-day series against the West Indies, and was also ruled out for the subsequent Test series with India. Following several games for Lancashire, Flintoff returned for England in the first of seven ODIs against India on 21 August 2007. He bowled seven overs and ended with figures of one for twelve in England's 104-run victory. He hit an eventful nine runs during the second ODI; however, while fielding, he injured his knee and sat out England's 42-run victory in the third ODI. He returned for the 4th ODI on 30 August. Flintoff missed England's two narrow defeats to India in the fifth and sixth ODIs before taking three for 45 in the seventh, helping England to win the series four-three with a seven-wicket victory.

Flintoff's ankle injury recurred during the end of the 2007 season, and, although he played in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, he did not accompany the England squad to Sri Lanka, and a fourth operation made it highly unlikely that he would play again before the summer of 2008, missing both the Sri Lankan Test Series and the 2008 tour of New Zealand. Flintoff remained "upbeat" about his career, however.

Flintoff was back in action for Lancashire early in the 2008 season, but a side strain ruled him out of contention for the home series against New Zealand. After again returning to action in county cricket, he was recalled to the England squad for the second Test against South Africa. He took his 200th Test wicket in the Third Test, trapping Neil McKenzie lbw for 72. Flintoff bowled consistently against the South Africans, but South African coach Mickey Arthur felt that he was too defensive. His batting also began to show promise as he consistently made starts, before being moved back up to bat at six when Kevin Pietersen took over as captain. In the following one day series, Flintoff was an important player for England, leading Pietersen to describe him as "a superstar". Flintoff scored 78 in both the first and the third matches – he was not required to bat in the second – as well as 31 not out off twelve balls in the fourth, whilst taking three wickets in the same match. This led many pundits to speculate that Flintoff might just be back to his best. He won Man of the Series in the ODI home series against South Africa, where England won four-nil: the last match was washed out. He was both the top run-scorer and the top wicket-taker of that series. Still, though, his want of consistency frustrated the pundits. "Flintoff," wrote Peter Roebuck some time later, "is a fine cricketer who has never quite worked out how he takes wickets or score runs. Torn between hitting and playing, pounding and probing, he has performed below his highest capabilities."

On England's tour of India, Flintoff started the series well. In the first warm-up match against the Mumbai Cricket Association, he scored exactly 100. It was his first century for England since the Fourth Test of the 2005 Ashes. His batting did not follow with similar successes in India and the West Indies, but his bowling remained strong, with a dozen wickets in the Caribbean at under thirty apiece, followed by a hat-trick in the final ODI series, becoming only the third English bowler ever to do so.

In February 2009, the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League bought Flintoff for USD 1,550,000 – $600,000 above his base price of $950,000. This makes him the highest-ever-paid IPL player, alongside compatriot Kevin Pietersen, and surpasses Mahendra Singh Dhoni's $1,500,000. But Flintoff did not find success at the tournament, held in South Africa after the Mumbai attacks, as after a difficult first few matches he was sent home for surgery following another knee injury.

However, speculation over Flintoff's form ahead of the much-awaited 2009 Ashes series died down as he took six wickets in his first match back for Lancashire and left "several county batsmen [...] nursing bruised ribs and fingers". He also collected a half-century against Hampshire, although he was still yet to register a century in either domestic cricket or any form of the international game since that Trent Bridge instalment of the last home Ashes in 2005, which year also accounted for his most recent Test five-for. "It's always been an Australian trait to over-rate players who have done well against them (just ask VVS Laxman)," wrote Lawrence Booth. "But in the case of Andrew Flintoff, this phenomenon is getting so out of control you wonder whether Steve Waugh has returned to orchestrate a cunning mind-game. [...] In any case, does anyone honestly think a player with his fitness record will make it through a five-Test series condensed into less than seven weeks?" Flintoff did offer some hope with the willow in the Twenty20 Cup, however, hitting 93 off 41 balls for Lancashire against Derbyshire in June.

On 15 July 2009, Flintoff announced he would retire from Test cricket at the end of the 2009 Ashes Series. He said that "Since 2005 I have just been plagued with injury so I've got the opportunity now to finish on a high by helping England to win the Ashes and it will give me great pleasure if I can play my last Test at the Oval and we can win the Ashes – it doesn't get any bigger than that." He was man of the match in England's victory at Lords in the Second Test Match, taking 5 wickets in the second innings after a fine display of fast bowling and achieving the rare feat of making both Lord's Honours Boards. On 23 August 2009, England defeated Australia at The Oval to seal a 2–1 series win, with Flintoff notably running out the Australian captain Ricky Ponting, ensuring Flintoff ended his England career on a high.

On 16 September 2010, Flintoff retired from all forms of professional cricket, having consulted with medical advisors. He still plays recreationally for Penwortham Cricket Club alongside his brother Chris Flintoff.

Records and achievements

• Flintoff is the third highest English wicket-taker in one-day international cricket with 168 wickets, and the 13th highest in Test cricket, with 219 wickets. These figures include wickets taken for the ICC World XI.
• He is also the 9th highest English run-scorer in one-day internationals, with a total of 2975.
• Flintoff was Lancashire's winner of the NBC Denis Compton Award in 1997.
• Flintoff holds the record for the most sixes scored for England, beating Ian Botham's record of 67 with a six off India's Piyush Chawla in Mohali on 11 March 2006.
• Flintoff is only the seventh player to have batted on all five days of a Test match, achieving this feat at Mohali, in the same match in which he broke the sixes record.
• He is one of seven players to be on both the batting and bowling honours boards at Lord's.
• He currently holds 14 Guinness World Records in aid of Sport Relief. These include the fastest time zorbing 100m, farthest distance to score a bullseye and popping the most party poppers in a minute.

Autobiographies

Flintoff has written several books: Being Freddie, Freddie, Andrew Flintoff, My Life in Pictures and Ashes to Ashes.

Family

Flintoff married Rachael Wools on 5 March 2003 at the 30 Pavilion Road Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. They have three children: a daughter, Holly (born 6 September 2004); and two sons – Corey (born 9 March 2006), and Rocky (born 7 April 2008). He has the names Rachael, Holly, Corey and Rocky tattooed on his left shoulder.

Flintoff's father, Colin, and his brother, Chris, both played cricket, with Colin still playing for Whittingham Cricket Club near Preston. During his innings of 167 against the West Indies at Edgbaston in July 2004, one six off Jermaine Lawson was hit high into the Ryder Stand and was almost caught by his father, who fumbled the ball and dropped it. Colin Flintoff remarked "If I'd taken it he'd have been the first Test batsman to be caught out by his dad!"

Flintoff's distant cousin is John-Paul Flintoff an author, broadcaster and journalist whose grandparents have “ Flintoff Way “ named after them in Preston.

Best performances

Batting

Test centuries

	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	137	13	New Zealand	Christchurch, New Zealand	Jade Stadium	2002
2	142	23	South Africa	London, England	Lord's	2003
3	102*	33	West Indies	St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua Recreation Ground	2004
4	167	38	West Indies	Birmingham, England	Edgbaston	2004
5	102	51	Australia	Nottingham, England	Trent Bridge	2005

One Day International centuries

	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	106	73	New Zealand	Bristol, England	County Cricket Ground	2004
2	123	74	West Indies	London, England	Lord's	2004
3	104	78	Sri Lanka	Southampton, England	Rose Bowl	2004

Bowling

Test five-wicket hauls

	Figures	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	5/58	33	West Indies	Bridgetown, Barbados	Kensington Oval	2004
2	5/78	52	Australia	London, England	The Oval	2005
3	5/92	77	Australia	London, England	Lord's	2009

One Day International five-wicket hauls

	Figures	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	5/56	125	India	Bristol, England	County Cricket Ground	2007
2	5/19	141	West Indies	Gros Islet, Saint Lucia	Beausejour Stadium	2009

Awards and honours

• Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE): 2006
• Freedom of the City of Preston: 2006
• England captain: 2006, 2006–2007
• Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World: 2005
• Wisden Cricketers of the Year: 2004
• PCA Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
• ICC Player of the Year: 2005
• ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2004
• ICC World One-Day XI: 2004, 2005, 2006
• ICC World Test XI: 2006
• Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year: 1998
• Compton-Miller medal: 2005
• Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy: 2005
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year: 2005
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Third Place: 2004
• NBC Denis Compton Award: 1997
• Walter Lawrence Trophy: 1999
• MCC Spirit of Cricket Award: 2005

Professional boxing record

1 Wins (0 knockouts, 1 decisions), 0 Losses (0 knockouts, 0 decisions), 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd.	Date	Location	Notes
Win	1–0	Richard Dawson	PTS	4	30 November 2012	Manchester Arena, Manchester	Pro debut