Freddie - I'm ready
All-rounder eyeing Lord's return
Last updated: 9th May 2008
Flintoff: seven Notts wickets
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England talisman Andrew Flintoff has urged the selectors to name him in the side for next week's first Test against New Zealand.
The Lancashire all-rounder has not played for his country for more than a year but after taking seven of 13 Durham wickets to fall at Old Trafford this week, he is raring to get back into international action.
"I definitely feel I could play a Test match now," Flintoff told The Sun. "I've missed a lot of international cricket in the past, so I'm itching to play for England once more.
"My bowling in both forms of the game has been going very well. The ball is coming out nicely and there have been no ill-effects or twinges in the ankle, which is a big relief."
The selectors will announce the side for Lord's on Sunday and Flintoff is aware he faces competition from England's other seamers.
Firing
"As far as the Test is concerned, we'll just have to wait and see," he said. "Most of the England bowlers are firing.
"Jimmy Anderson and Matthew Hoggard are taking wickets, big Steve Harmison is bowling well against us this week and Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom are bowling well for Notts.
"What really pleases me is I have bowled some eight-over spells and 12 in a session on Wednesday with no problems.
"I had a bit of body stiffness when I first started bowling again but I feel confident and the opposition we've faced in county cricket has been tough."
Flintoff has had two ducks in the current Championship game but he is confident that is just a temporary blip.
"In the nets, I'm hitting the ball fine," he added. "Anyone can get a first-baller and, in fairness, I got a good delivery from Peter Trego against Somerset and the ball against Durham on Wednesday moved enough to take the edge.
Pride
"I still consider myself a batting all-rounder. I think I always will. I would say I take more pride in my batting. I just need to get a score and I'll be fine. If I do play for England again, I'd love to bat as high up the order as I can.
"But I know I've not set the world alight with my batting so far, so don't feel in any position to say where I want to bat.
"I'd love to have both parts of the game working well, though that's not possible very often when you're an all-rounder. Normally, the batting or the bowling is going better."
| Fixture |
|---|
| Friday 9th May |
| County Championship - Division One |
| Somerset vs Hampshire |
| Lancashire vs Durham |
| Nottinghamshire vs Kent |
| County Championship - Division Two |
| Derbyshire vs Warwickshire |
| Essex vs Middlesex |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Jaipur vs IPL Hyderabad |
| Friends Provident Trophy |
| Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire |
| Saturday 10th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Chennai vs IPL Mohali |
| Friends Provident Trophy |
| Northamptonshire vs Leicestershire |
| Sunday 11th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Jaipur vs IPL Delhi |
| Result |
|---|
| Thursday 8th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Delhi vs IPL Chennai Chennai Super Kings won by 4 wickets. |
| IPL Kolkata vs IPL Bangalore Kolkata Knight Riders won by 5 runs. |
| Friends Provident Trophy |
| Sussex vs Surrey Surrey won by 67 runs. |
| Wednesday 7th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Mumbai vs IPL Jaipur Mumbai Indians won by 7 wickets. |
| Tuesday 6th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Chennai vs IPL Hyderabad Deccan Chargers won by 7 wickets. |
| Monday 5th May |
| Indian Premier league |
| IPL Bangalore vs IPL Mohali Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets. |
| Friends Provident Trophy |
| Sussex vs Middlesex Sussex won by 7 wickets. |
| Lancashire vs Scotland Scotland won by 2 runs. |
| Northamptonshire vs Ireland Northamptonshire won by 8 wickets. |
| Surrey vs Kent Kent won by 90 runs. |
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Comments
Oli Williams says...
Freddie is not ready! I could not justify picking him in the side as an all-rounder, as to be fair at the moment he is seriously struggling with the bat, two first ballers in the cc this season. I don't question his ability with the ball he is ready to be put in the side as a bowler but with his injury history can you have a front line bowler with such a sizeable question mark hanging over his head. I think get the batting sorted, which I don't doubt he will and get him fired up for SA or the next ashes! The other question is who would you drop to fit Fred in, not Jimmy, Broady or Sidebottom nor an all-rounder?
Posted 11:05 9th May 2008
Wayne Gorrett says...
...sorry, Freddie, we're not ready for you.
Posted 10:29 9th May 2008
Hermes Solomonides says...
i think freddie will come good with his batting this summer. there is no doubt that his bowling is good enough, Flintoff is one of the most consistent seamers in the world, when he is not injured. Flintoff is the kind of batsman that can take a game away from you. all he needs is a bit of confidence and a good knock
Posted 09:39 9th May 2008
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