Andrew Flintoff omitted from Lancashire squad; comeback on hold

Opening the batting for Lancasire, Andrew Flintoff was dismissed for a run-a-ball 16

Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff’s hopes of coming back to higher level cricket has hit a roadblock after being left out of Lancashire’s squad, owing to his unimpressive performance in the second XI match against Leicestershire on Thursday, for the Yorkshire T20 fixture.

Flintoff made a surprise announcement last week stating that he is coming out of retirement to play Twenty20s for his county Lancashire. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do much to impress the club in his first match. Being drafted in to play the semi-final of the Second XI T20 competition, Flintoff picked up 2 wickets but conceded 39 runs in his 4 overs. The right-hander did not make much of an impact with the bat, as well, scoring a run-a-ball 16.

Mike Watkinson, the director of cricket for Lancashire, mentioned that Flintoff has to earn his place in the side and cannot make a direct entry with his reputation. The 2005 and 2009 Ashes series hero, in an attempt to prove himself, played a match for his former club St.Annes few days before, where he made his mark with a 3-wicket haul besides holding onto a stunning return catch before failing for Lancashire.

Mark Chilton, the second XI coach, said: “It would have been unfair to expect him to come in and dominate. He has been a long time out of the game and as we know playing in a game is very different from training but, on the whole, he made a pretty good show of it.”

Ian Botham, former England fast bowling all-rounder, earlier in his column for Daily Mirror , had written that Flintoff has made a mistake coming out of retirement.

"While I wish him all the very best, I think he is making a massive mistake. We've not seen Fred on a cricket field since those memorable days in 2009 - and five years is a long time out of the game.

"Unless he's managed to swap knees with someone, I don't know how it has suddenly got better, allowing him to tear in and play the game properly," wrote Botham.

Flintoff, taking that view in a positive way, tweeted after his match for St Annes: "Thanks for your concerns@BeefyBotham but being happy is never a mistake!"