
Originally Posted by
Prince EWS
I think the days where he'd balance the side particularly well are gone now, anyway. Yeah, he'd offer a fifth bowling option if he batted six, but when England had Flintoff, were carrying Panesar and were struggling to find a player who could keep to a decent standard and bat in the top seven, I really favoured:
6 Patel
7 Flintoff
8 Foster/Read
9 -11 quicks, or Monty if conditions really suited
The emergence of Swann and Prior and the retirement of Flintoff makes him a much less attractive option now, not to mention the fact that, as you said, he hasn't scored any runs in two years.