Despite not being the Hector that everyone wished him to be, Flintoff is still a iconic representation of, say, the last 10 years of English cricket, in the same way that, say, Botham and Hussain were before him (I'm not going to pretend I've got enough knowledge to refer back to players before the early 80s for the purposes of this point).
For this reason, his passing from Test cricket is an existential watershed; another moment when we can pause and recognise the transient part we all get to play in reality.
People mythologised his roots, his northern, "pint and a pie", "mind the windows, Tino" authenticity.
Others, in tune with the modern cynical age, derided him as either unprofessional and duplicitous by turns.
In terms of his playing, I just want to give you this...
And I just want to remind this blog that, for better or worse, he was a paradigm of English cricket at the turn of the century. And the fact that he is retiring provides us with a moment to both applaud and mourn the nature of sport (indeed, all human endeavour) and our place in the cosmos.
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(pretty up its arse, eh? - KKP)
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4 comments:
I could do with Freddie getting Ponting and one of the openers in his first over tomorrow.
Well said KP. It hasn't quite settled in, but the 'we're a better team without Flintoff' and the 'second hand motor' comments which have been bandied around are out of order, even there is some truth in both.
also...on ather's 'second hand motor' comment: he's got history of inappropriate comments; vaughan, harmison spring to mind.
given the amount of shit HE had to go through and put up with in the 90s with both his performance and health he should perhaps help us understand what these players are going through.
He could have applied the 'second hand motor' tag to himself for most of the second half of the 90s.
Although everything said by my esteemed co-bloggers is correct. I can't help be have a nagging cynicism about this. Not long ago, the 'greats' chose to retire from ODIs before considering leaving test cricket. Vaughn, Thorpe, Flemming, Warne, recently younis k, and I could go on. many of these subsequently came out of full retirement to get some ipl action.
test cricket supposed to be hard on the body and mind; it is the pinnacle of professional cricket. i guess that most great cricketers would support this; and decide to take this root of preserving the body (with demanding schedule, something has to go), rather than a financial motivation.
Can't help but feel that IPL has something to do with his choice - who wouldn't! a million bucks for the effort of less than one test match. And if this is the case, it unfortunately confirms where Freddy's true ethic lies (and for me, puts some of his passed antics into perspective). and certainly he has never lived down the label of wanting an easy life in county cricket, rather than take on the challenge of test cricket (as someone from the academicals told me). on the converse side, you have performances such as is evident in the above youtube.
But then, sportsmen have to make these decisions based on a truncated career. i sold out to singapore to make a quick buck, not that i'm remotely good at any sport (and i hope my careers not over by the time i'm 35).
now i will begin mourning; it is a sad day for test cricket.
I find myself unmoved. I feel sorry for him, because he had more talent than he was clever enough to know what to do with. The feeling that those gloriously euphoric moments that only test (and possibly Ashes) cricket can bring are over must be very difficult. But he had them, and he's left with the affection of a grateful nation, captured forever on the dvd box set we all own, and those of us who eyed him with suspicion in his latter days in an England team which he no longer recognised, will soon forget such churlishness. He is also, I might add, left with a wife who is as fit as you fucking like.
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