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Fired-up Flintoff transforms England

R. Mohan

To say Andrew Flintoff is greater than the sum of his parts is the simplest way to praise the man. As class acts go, he is in a league of his own, so rare has the bowling all-rounder become in the modern game. A fired-up Flintoff has transformed England from a rag tag and bob-tailed ODI outfit into a fighting unit that has gone up the ranks from number seven to three in a matter of weeks. Sometimes, to swing games, all it takes is one classy cricketer.

Just a couple of months ago, England were losing matches like novices to New Zealand. They were in free fall then, so much that the Collingwood incident with the run out even led to a change at the helm.

It's no mere coincidence that Kevin Pietersen is in charge when England charged up the rankings. It takes one gladiator to bring out the best in another. Freddie has acknowledged this by saying that a move up the order, to three drop, had led to his resurgence as a batsman. At the beginning of the season when he was struggling to put bat to ball, Flintoff had more ducks than on dining tables at sumptuous English feasts. He might even have threatened the inglorious run that Ajit Agarkar had when he got nicknamed as the "Bombay Duck" on a tour of Australia once.

The thing with these characters who are class acts is you don't judge them in backyard cricket. Put them in the big arena and the adrenaline flow will see to the recapturing of form far sooner than nets or not so meaningful first class games. Champs tend to target the big occasion to come good. They need atmosphere.

The fact remains that England have not won a big limited-overs event (World Cup, Champions Trophy, T-20 Worlds) since the one-day international was invented in 1971. To credit them with a world championship chance is still very hard, more so considering the next World Cup is in the sub-continent where they have done very little. To write the home side off in next year's T-20 Worlds would be unwise. In English conditions, they have an attack that commands respect. The run-denying middle overs, operated by Flintoff and the rediscovered international cricketer Stephen Harmison, make them a particularly competitive side.

The fear with Flintoff has, of course, to do with injuries. He has recovered from a fourth ankle operation, each one possibly to tackle a problem worse than the previous one. When he is fit and raring to go, there are few sights more inspiring than the quick stuff he sends down that sees the ball come up with a distinct bounce even on the slower and well-prepared ODI pitches.

It is a measure of the man and his new captain's influence on him that Freddie should be such a willing workhorse with the ball even when the soft hotel beds got to his back on the eve of the fourth ODI. There is no doubting the KP influence on both quick bowlers, Flintoff and Harmison, who have responded brilliantly.

Imagine the value Flintoff and Pietersen will fetch in the IPL now. While English cricketers may have been feigning a lack of interest, would they in their heart of hearts wish to forego the chance to earn in millions for not so demanding work? The star value of both the Lancashire man and the South African from Pietermaritzburg has shot up considerably and all eight IPL franchises will be lining up to rope them in.

For a bowler plagued with an ankle problem, the finite look to a career must impel Flintoff to look at the IPL option. With the Ashes to be played next summer, the focus would, however, not be on the IPL T-20. Also, the window will be a small one. In theory, Flintoff may be the player least likely to be enticed by the concept of the quick dash for cash, but India is the favoured destination for all cricketers now.

How much Flintoff has transformed England with his contributions with bat and ball brings us back to the argument that class is class and that it will come out regardless of other circumstances like fitness problems. Not in the last couple of years has Flintoff been up and firing on all cylinders as he has in his team's four dramatic wins.

A Freddie in pomp is a major spectacle the game was in dire need of.