Andrew Flintoff announced that he would quit playing Test matches at the end of the Ashes series. He will be available to play for England in the shorter formats of the game.
Though Flintoff has declared that he is quitting Test cricket to prolong his cricketing career, one cannot bring oneself to deride him. Unlike others, Flintoff has undergone four ankle operations as well as suffering back, hip, shoulder and groin problems.
This catalogue of injuries as one columnist describes it, surely indicates that his body is collapsing under the strain. Flintoff carries another burden, the burden of expectations. Every time he takes the field, the nation expects him to do the star turn. Coupled with his injuries, the burden would have proved heavy for even a man as broad shouldered as he is, to bear.
Let us not deride him for his eagerness to continue playing in the shorter format of the game. May be the opportunity to let loose without the fear of injuries may well see him play to his undeniable potential?
Though Flintoff has declared that he is quitting Test cricket to prolong his cricketing career, one cannot bring oneself to deride him. Unlike others, Flintoff has undergone four ankle operations as well as suffering back, hip, shoulder and groin problems.
This catalogue of injuries as one columnist describes it, surely indicates that his body is collapsing under the strain. Flintoff carries another burden, the burden of expectations. Every time he takes the field, the nation expects him to do the star turn. Coupled with his injuries, the burden would have proved heavy for even a man as broad shouldered as he is, to bear.
Let us not deride him for his eagerness to continue playing in the shorter format of the game. May be the opportunity to let loose without the fear of injuries may well see him play to his undeniable potential?
