When will Flintoff be back?

[GIMH]

I think we'll see some top-class bowling this summer from him, and I'm much more optimistic of him staying fit than I was last August. You know me, though, eternal optimist and all.

 

[Richard]

As I say - I honestly am neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I just don't think we can really hope to have a clue what's going to happen. He hasn't bowled enough since his last op for any conclusions to be formed.

 

[GIMH]

I must say my heart was in my mouth when a rumour was about in the domestic season thread that he'd pulled out of an over. I'll never be 100% confident in him not pulling out, but I have a good feeling that's all. Based on nothing and as mentioned at the start of the post, doesn't take a lot to give me negative vibes, but I honestly have an unfounded belief that he's back for a while this time.

 

[Richard]

Let's hope so. FWIW, have had the same thing myself, based probably on the (flawed, obviously) "things cannot keep going wrong forever" mentality.

 

[superkingdave]

The question might be, do you want his last act as a cricketer to be breaking down in a match for Lancashire because he is bowling more and more overs in an effort to prove he is fit for England, whilst England struggle through the summer and get hammered by South Africa. Or do we accept, yes we aren't going to get 25 overs a day day after day from him, but if we get 15 overs a day out of him that is more than better than what we are going to get out of someone else. He's been back bowling for over a month now and we've not even heard the usual 'it's okay but we're just resting him because of a little 'soreness''

 

[FBU]

From The Mirror - the other day

Hero Flintoff has been warned he could be finished as a bowler this season - because of an amazing ****-up by the England set up. Flintoff, 30, is easing his way back into cricket following a fourth operation on his troublesome left ankle. But the agonising surgery could have been avoided if England chiefs had not ignored an extensive medical dossier on Freddie six years ago which detected a serious problem with his ankle.

World renowned Lancashire bowling fitness boffin, Dr Paul Hurrion carried out the test on Flintoff when Duncan Fletcher was England coach. And he insisted 'If Freddie tries to bowl at 90mph an hour he won't last the summer. I wrote a detailed report on his bowling action six years ago to which not a lot of attention was paid. The attitude was 'if it ain't broken then don't change it'. I did a full bio-mechanical analysis of him, involving high-speed filming of his action. The film takes 250 frames per second. I analysed his action frame by frame and the strain on his ankle was clearly visible. It was a massive issue. He needed to change his rotation, the position of his feet and how he moved through the crease. My recommendations went to the coaches. And I am afraid if he is going to be bowling consistently at 90mph - like he did in the Ashes - he has to change or he will be finished'. Hurrion works with the ICC and several counties including Lancs. He also fears for the future of 6'5 pace man Stuart Broad, 21, just three matches into his Test career.

Harrion added 'I have done a similar report with the ECB about Broad and I only pray to God that something does not happen to him. He has issues with his back and they know about it. It's whether they choose to act. Flintoff's ankle is splayed at the moment of delivery, putting massive pressure on the joint. He added, 'you are talking seven or eight times his body weight going through that ankle. A hundred stone? It gets worse - and is not just the load, it is how quickly that load appears. It is like comparing runnning on concrete to running on sand. Fred's foot is virtually at 90 degrees. If you are in that position and seven or eight times your body weight comes through, your leg is not going to like it. But it is avoidable. The front foot should point down the pitch'.

 

[Richard]

The question might be, do you want his last act as a cricketer to be breaking down in a match for Lancashire because he is bowling more and more overs in an effort to prove he is fit for England, whilst England struggle through the summer and get hammered by South Africa. Or do we accept, yes we aren't going to get 25 overs a day day after day from him, but if we get 15 overs a day out of him that is more than better than what we are going to get out of someone else. He's been back bowling for over a month now and we've not even heard the usual 'it's okay but we're just resting him because of a little 'soreness''

15 overs a day maximum is not good enough for a front-line bowler, sorry. If this is the most he can manage, he will get in no team selected by me.

 

[Richard]

From The Mirror - the other day

Hero Flintoff has been warned he could be finished as a bowler this season - because of an amazing ****-up by the England set up. Flintoff, 30, is easing his way back into cricket following a fourth operation on his troublesome left ankle. But the agonising surgery could have been avoided if England chiefs had not ignored an extensive medical dossier on Freddie six years ago which detected a serious problem with his ankle.

World renowned Lancashire bowling fitness boffin, Dr Paul Hurrion carried out the test on Flintoff when Duncan Fletcher was England coach. And he insisted 'If Freddie tries to bowl at 90mph an hour he won't last the summer. I wrote a detailed report on his bowling action six years ago to which not a lot of attention was paid. The attitude was 'if it ain't broken then don't change it'. I did a full bio-mechanical analysis of him, involving high-speed filming of his action. The film takes 250 frames per second. I analysed his action frame by frame and the strain on his ankle was clearly visible. It was a massive issue. He needed to change his rotation, the position of his feet and how he moved through the crease. My recommendations went to the coaches. And I am afraid if he is going to be bowling consistently at 90mph - like he did in the Ashes - he has to change or he will be finished'. Hurrion works with the ICC and several counties including Lancs. He also fears for the future of 6'5 pace man Stuart Broad, 21, just three matches into his Test career.

Harrion added 'I have done a similar report with the ECB about Broad and I only pray to God that something does not happen to him. He has issues with his back and they know about it. It's whether they choose to act. Flintoff's ankle is splayed at the moment of delivery, putting massive pressure on the joint. He added, 'you are talking seven or eight times his body weight going through that ankle. A hundred stone? It gets worse - and is not just the load, it is how quickly that load appears. It is like comparing runnning on concrete to running on sand. Fred's foot is virtually at 90 degrees. If you are in that position and seven or eight times your body weight comes through, your leg is not going to like it. But it is avoidable. The front foot should point down the pitch'.

So what our Kev Goughy's been saying for 2 years (at least), someone else said 6 years ago... fantastic.

Why people cannot listen to these biomechanists rather than taking the "oh, well, it's fine at the moment" line I'll never know.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

He shouldn't even be considered for the first half of the Summer and not until he's got half a season of injury free County Cricket under his belt. It's hard to see the benefit in him batting at 11, if he's fit he bats Number 8 at the lowest and if he's not fit he doesn't play.

 

[Flem274*]

From someone who is used to seeing their bowling heroes in hospital with most of their bones shattered I advise England to play Flintoff while they can.

I mean, lets face it, James Marshall and Chris Martin will make sure he gets at least two per innings.

 

[Shoggz]

I posted this in the official New Zealand tour thread before I saw this one, but it's probably more relevant here..

There's an interview with Michael Vaughan in today's Times which seems to indicate that Freddie Flintoff will play in the first test against New Zealand.. However, there's a new twist....

“For a long time I was a fan of five bowlers, but since we've had to do without Fred, I've realised that whilst five might be ideal, it is certainly possible to do with four in Test cricket,” he says. “That's the way I'm looking right now. Most other Test teams have a No6 who averages 45 in Test cricket, so I'm looking at Flintoff at seven and four bowlers.” Sounds like Flintoff is already inked in.

Here's the article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle3857739.ece

Interesting..