 Print this page |
Flintoff backs England to become No.1
|
Andrew Flintoff has backed England to become the world's No.1 side in both Test and one-day cricket.
England are currently ranked fifth in Test cricket and a place down in sixth in the limited-overs game, but Flintoff believes they have the capacity to top hosts South Africa in the upcoming series and climb up the standings.
The one-day series against the Proteas gets under way in Johannesburg later today with Flintoff missing as he continues his recuperation following post-Ashes knee surgery.
"We got close to the top of the rankings in 2005 when we beat Australia in the Ashes and the one-dayers," he said, "and we need to get the belief back in both forms of the game. What better way to do that than a double over South Africa.
"They're a tough side [currently the No.1 ranked team in Test cricket] but I'd still expect England to beat them in the Test series. The one-dayers are tougher to call. It's all about momentum and it'll all rest on who gets off to the best start much of which can be down to luck rather than anything else."
England will welcome back Kevin Pietersen, a player that Flintoff believes is integral to England's bid to be the world's leading side.
"England have a lot of world-class players in the team but Kevin's definitely the best player we have and one of the very best players in world cricket right now," Flintoff added. "He does stuff that other normal players don't do.
"And I know from having talked to Kevin that he's desperate to get back to playing at the top of his game. The Achilles is no longer a problem and I expect him to be prolific."
Flintoff will be forced to watch the game from his home in Dubai where he is working on his recovery from knee surgery. The England all-rounder has only been off his crutches for the last three weeks but is gradually building up his recovery.
|
"It's pretty tedious," he said. "The first two weeks were pretty average to be honest. We'd just won the Ashes and I got to celebrate with my leg up on the sofa for eight hours a day. The operation gave me a lot of time to contemplate stuff and what I still want to do and I came to the conclusion that I love cricket and I want to play as much of it as possible.
"But I've got to be patient and make sure I don't rush my return. I've not been able to do a lot. I can walk around now and swim but I can't even take my daughters to the water park near our house or fully play with them yet."
Following Flintoff’s surgery, the 31-year-old Lancastrian marked out his comeback as the three one-day internationals against Bangladesh in February.
But after meeting with his consultant in London last week, he admitted that date was ambitious and, more likely, he would not play again before the Indian Premier League in March for Chennai, although even that remains in doubt.
"Until January, I really won't know for sure," he said. "I just have to work on getting back to form and fitness, and that's made easier by the frustration of watching the boys play in South Africa. I desperately want to be playing there and winning for England. There's still a lot I want to achieve in my career and, if I had my way, I'd play for England for another 10 or 15 years."
The two leading items on the to-do list for Flintoff, who has retired from Test cricket after 79 England appearances, is to win the 2011 World Cup in the West Indies and also next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
"I want to win both of them and I genuinely believe we can do that even though we didn't have a great stab at either one last time around," he said.
Flintoff famously made the headlines at the last World Cup in the Caribbean two years ago when he took to the water in a pedalo late at night and had to be rescued after getting into trouble.
He insists the moment is long forgotten but is keen to make his mark in a global tournament. "Things didn't go quite right for me or the team at the last World Cup," he said, "and I'd like to change that. I certainly believe we have the side to do that."
|
Flintoff knows he would have been playing for England in South Africa this winter if the rigours of international cricket had not caused him to undergo his fifth major operation since debuting for his country.
His current England team-mates have this week warned of player burnout as injuries increasingly take their toll, to Flintoff among others.
"I'm not sure I make the player burnout bracket as I've played for England for about 18 months of the last four years," he said. "I'm just unlucky with injuries and that I've got a big frame giving the rest of my body grief.
"I'd play every day of the week if I could but I realise things do need to be reigned in a bit. Careers are getting shorter but the riches are getting greater so there's a balancing act there."
Despite his injury problems, Flintoff is confident he will regain his best form for his county - he recently signed a new three-year deal with Lancashire.
His overriding aim is "just to play cricket again" although he is keen to win medals in one-day cricket rather than just be remembered as the lynchpin in England's last two Ashes wins on home soil.
Flintoff has recently launched his latest book, Ashes to Ashes, which recalls the highs and many lows between the two series.
"It was good to do as the whole time was a hell of a whirlwind," he said. "I had five operations, captained England to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash and all this was sandwiched between my two greatest moments as an England player."
As for which Ashes series means more, he refuses to be drawn.
He added: "They're both so different. In 2005, we were on a long run and building up to something pretty special. We went into the series brimming with confidence and in a position to beat Australia for the first time in a long time.
"And with 2009, I knew it was going to be my last series as a Test player so I wanted to put absolutely everything I could into it."
Andrew Flintoff's Ashes to Ashes, published by Hodder and Stoughton, is out in all good bookstores RRP £19.99.
