Freddie Is Ready

‘ENGLAND’S victory over South Africa in yesterday’s one-day international may have made little difference to the triangular tournament.

Freddie – the bedrock of the England middle order

Both sides are already through to contest the final at the weekend and yesterday’s match was only really about confidence ahead of that match.

But it is England who will have taken the most out of the game and not just for the fact that they won by four wickets with 11 overs to spare.

The English bowling attack again caused problems for the batting side, but this time on a pitch that was generally reckoned to be a decent surface.

The fielding was, for the most part, outstanding with some excellent catching.

And, despite the continuing frailties at the top of the order, the batting held firm when it might have crumbled.

However, the best thing to happen to England in their one-day matches this summer is the emergence of Andrew Flintoff as a player around whom England can build their side.

Yesterday, he not only helped rescue England in partnership with Michael Vaughan (as he had done against Zimbabwe on Sunday), but he took a stunning slip catch to dismiss Jacques Kallis and chipped in with a wicket in his nine overs.

While Vaughan has rightly been receiving the plaudits in the last 12 months as England’s top batsman and James Anderson has been hogging the bowling headlines, Flintoff has been working hard on his game.

He is now an integral part of the England team in both forms of cricket and should be able to assume the all-rounder mantle in the Test side when Alec Stewart retires.

Arguments rage about where Flintoff should bat in one-day cricket, but in Test matches England would love for him to be able to come in at No.6.

That would allow Chris Read (or James Foster) to bat at No.7, followed by the four bowlers.

It was the balance of the side when, dare we mention his name, Ian Botham was in his prime – and it served England well.

Flintoff will never be as good a bowler as Botham was in his prime, but he does have the potential to be as good a batsman.

And, as we saw yesterday, he also has the knack of taking blinding catches…

‘

Posted: 9th, July 2003 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink