Graham Thorpe

Graham Thorpe

Freddie not being unloyal

Wed Sep 16 03:58PM

Andrew Flintoff has a contract with Lancashire, but he is essentially a freelance cricketer and everyone in the game will be intrigued to see how his career progresses from here.

Many will see this as an unhealthy situation for the game, freelance cricketers were always going to come in and you cannot blame Flintoff for that.

The big all-rounder does not want to be tied down to a contract with England which has power and control over him.

Knowing Fred and the England setup as a whole, he will have been offered the contract and he will have simply turned it down; it does not mean that he will play any less for his country.

People should not get carried away because Flintoff's situation is a pretty unique one for England. As an injury-prone all-rounder he has to protect his fitness, and he has given a huge amount for his country in the past.

Flintoff is certainly in the most powerful position that an England player has ever been in now.

It was always inevitable that players would become freelancers and pick and choose which matches they play in.

The uncertainty lies in at what age players choose to take on that role of autonomy in their careers because it could start to drop.

Playing for England should remain the number one priority for any cricketer, regardless of whether they are on a central or incremental contract or none at all.

  • Comments1 - 11 of 11

  1. Why is everyone defending Flintoff??? He is the most unloyal, publicity-seeking, money-grabbing, self-serving, attention-loving sportsman I have ever come across!!!! Freelance=fraud

    jenysissFrom jenysiss on Wed Sep 16 04:18PM

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  2. Surely if he decides to pick and choose which ODI's he plays he'll be ruling himself out of all England matches. Why would a selector want to gamble on a player who might decide to play or not when he can build a committed team of players who wear the colours with pride?

    ssrx_surferFrom ssrx_surfer on Wed Sep 16 04:18PM

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  3. I am not sure we can blame Flintoff for this decision. He may not have much more time as a cricketer with all the injuries he sustains and he has a family to provide for. He probably feels he has to make the money where he can. However, I think he has finally blown his chances to play for England again and I don't think he should be selected.

    bmush_ukFrom bmush_uk on Wed Sep 16 04:47PM

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  4. Go for it Freddie there is big money out there for big name players and you are one of the biggest. All the best where ever you choose to play your cricket.

    colin.stansmoreFrom colin.stansmore on Wed Sep 16 10:47PM

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  5. I agree with number 2. But you get yourself an agent, depending, you play with the devil. Your career becomes money focused and nothing else. Freddy has changed, even in his demeanor. He has been coached (see "programmed") in how to react, and like a businessman or politician, to walk that fine line between a truth and a lie. (its called fence sitting). And to be never seen to be a culprit or culpable.
    Cricketers will become like footballers; corporate robots, doing the bidding of their agents, and worshiping at the altar of gold. Cricket is changing?! Society is changing, and not for the better. Progress? I don't think so. We are regressing, becoming desensitized, losing our humanity, and the only way I will get to see a bit of good, honest cricket, played for the sake of the game, will be on the village green.

    pompstarrFrom pompstarr on Thu Sep 17 07:26AM

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  6. Surely the top English cricketers get paid more than enough, and putting England first should always be their priority.

    parksfieldsFrom parksfields on Thu Sep 17 09:32AM

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  7. Unfortunately England can't afford not to pick Freddie, despite his uncertain commitment, as we haven't got an abundance of super-talented players like him!

    ever.hopefulFrom ever.hopeful on Thu Sep 17 09:36AM

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  8. After the way the ECB treated people like Graham Thorpe I can only say that loyalty cuts two ways and it does not matter to the TCB when they ditch players like Thorpe for useless boys like Bell.

    Get over it the players know they have to look adfter themselves as the TCB will not.- make your money Freddie--you deserve it.

    jeancheneFrom jeanchene on Thu Sep 17 11:17AM

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  9. Flintoff has always put fame and money before his duties for England so I don't see why anyone should be surprised by this. It just shows how stupid the ECB were for offering him a contract in the first place. They would have been better of trying to make him earn what he has already been paid in all of his years of underperforming before giving him any more.

    i4nhartFrom i4nhart on Thu Sep 17 01:10PM

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  10. How very true NO:13. He has been over-hyped for a very long time! Would he be paid the same salary IF he played for England in the future as he has been earning on a proper contract?

    patandbarbaraFrom patandbarbara on Fri Sep 18 08:21AM

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  11. England needs to build a team without a primadonna like Flintoff. He has been greatly overrated. Apart from a couple of good seasons at the highest level, his performances were mediocre. As a business investment he is poor value. Whoever is crazy enough to pay much for an injury-prone, big headed 'has been' is not a businessman.

    billiemctFrom billiemct on Sat Oct 24 09:14AM

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