The danger of flogging Andrew Flintoff to death | andrew flintoff dead

The danger, Andrew Flintoff, death , andrew flintoff dead

For much of the second day South Africa were blocking their way to victory with, appropriately enough for a side sponsored by a brewery, a laager mentality. But they now know they will only win this series over Andrew Flintoff’s dead body, which may well be the case if England continue to saddle him with the workload of a Skegness donkey.

England have tried many variations in an attempt to unsettle the visitors this summer – including selecting bowlers who no one has heard of — but yesterday their beleaguered captain was reduced to the two most familiar ploys of recent times. Plan A: throw the ball to Flintoff. Plan B: give him half an hour off, then throw him the ball again.

When play began in bowler-friendly conditions, the South African batsmen would have told each other: “Now then, lads. Anything you don’t have to play at, leave it alone.” Which turned out to be a good deal easier than expected against an attack that had clearly been humming Land of Hope and Glory to themselves as they trotted down the pavilion steps. Or at least the bit that goes “wider still and wider”.


Watching Jimmy Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom fail to take advantage of the swinging ball, especially before lunch, was mildly depressing, but not half as irritating as the apparent belief of the England wicketkeeper and slip cordon that a ball passing harmlessly wide of the off stump is a lethal hand grenade.

It is laudable enough trying to harness some positive energy, but constant shouts of “Aaahhhhh!” and “Bowled Jimmy!” to something which would prompt a one-day umpire to signal a wide constitute self-delusion on an astonishing scale.

If it wasn’t for Flintoff, England would already be a distant spec in South Africa’s rear-view mirror. Flintoff might have had even more wickets but for one dropped catch and another one which was referred to the third umpire. Andrew Strauss took an outside edge low down at third slip and, such is the inadequacy of the two-dimensional technology for such referrals, the final verdict was always going to be not out.

Full marks to Strauss though, as the batsman, Neil McKenzie, was apparently prepared to walk on the fielder’s say-so. Strauss clearly wants to be able to sleep at night – or as much of it as a man with a three-week-old baby can manage – and it was at least a partial throwback to the days of self-regulation, rather than the modern-day reliance on contraptions, gadgets and television replays.

However, when Flintoff was bowling so furiously late in the day, there could easily have been a case of a batsman walking after being given “not out.” This used to happen when bowlers such as Sylvester Clarke were bowling to tail-enders and a ball would scorch past both outside edge and throat on its way to the keeper. “Come back, Bert, you never touched it.”

“It were close enough for me, lad. I’m off.”

Flintoff’s evening spell was terrific entertainment for the crowd, and at least introduced a positive atmosphere into proceedings after long periods of fairly typical Edgbaston moaning, directed at most of England’s inadequacies, but above all at Paul Collingwood.

England have plenty to do to turn this game around, though they would still be ahead on first innings if they would only embrace – just occasionally – a field setting that has now gone out of fashion. So many runs leak away down at third man, you wonder why they pipe Jerusalem through the loudspeakers before the start of play. The Harry Lime Theme would be far more appropriate.

Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/