:D

C'MON!!!!!!!!!!!

Flintoff himself had already been sacked as England's specialist second slip fielder. Maybe this position was too much of a strain for that fragile knee; maybe they were planning for the future or – dare we whisper it? – perhaps they had lost faith in his catching ability. No menace with the ball; no runs with the bat and now he was fielding at mid-on, the position that KS Ranjitsinhji in "The Jubilee Book of Cricket" described as "probably the best place for a duffer".

Whatever the reason, mid-on was where Flintoff was patrolling when Steve Harmison ran in to bowl at Michael Hussey. The score was 217-2. It wasn't going frightfully well.

Hussey clipped the ball to Flintoff's left and called his partner, Ricky Ponting, for a single. The Australian captain was a little slow to respond but there were no immediate alarms. Flintoff gathered the ball and hurled it at the stumps. Still Ponting was slow to recognise the danger. If he had the full-length dive was the appropriate response. And, of course, that throw splattered the stumps.

....

His was such a dignified exit, avoiding all the traps that were highlighted when he announced his retirement before the Lord's Test. Today was more about the Ashes regained than Flintoff retired. He looked on while those younger and fitter than him did the job. He was content in that role. But he had to intervene once, just the once to leave us a reminder.

In 2005 the lasting image of the series was at Edgbaston as Flintoff knelt to console Brett Lee. There is now a very good chance that the picture that will become the image of 2009 will be that of the old duffer at mid-on grabbing the ball and his only chance to have an impact on proceedings and demolishing those stumps. Not such a bad way to go. It is not just Andy Flower and the England team that will miss him. We all will.

TMS commentator Vic Marks on Andrew Flintoff



Goodbye Freddie.

Jon

At this rate, the people with tickets for Sunday may be disappointed