Left field

More Freelance Flintoffs might serve England well

Andrew Flintoff’s decision to forego a contract with England and set himself up as an elite cricket freelancer has provoked a fair amount of grumbling in the media, with words like “mercenary” and “snub” being bandied about all over the place.

But whether you consider Flintoff’s decision ungrateful or not, consider for a moment whether it might not work out to England’s advantage.

As others have said, there’s nothing really new in Flintoff’s decision to go it alone. Other cricketers have made themselves available as players for hire in different parts of the world over a season.

The difference here is that Flintoff has made it clear that he is still available to play for his country at one-day international and Twenty20 level … and looking at the country’s recent results, how they need him.

According to recent media reports, the thought of having such a talented and marketable cricketer as Flintoff in their ranks has already drawn interest from teams in Australia and South Africa.

Fitness permitting, he will be on the auction block for the Indian Premier League and as long as his knees hold up he could follow the sun, playing some games for England (he has his eye on returning for the tour of Bangladesh early next year) and more for cash-rich teams around the globe.

Is there anything wrong with what Flintoff is doing?

Will Symonds ever play for Australia again?

Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds is being sent home from the World Twenty20 tournament in England for disciplinary reasons, Cricket Australia (CA) has said.

CA chief executive James Sutherland told a hastily-arranged news conference in Melbourne broadcast on national television that Symonds had been ordered home for alcohol related issues.

“The decision has been made after Andrew, in the last 24 to 48 hours, has broken a number of team rules,” Sutherland said.

“In isolation those breaches are not significant but in the context of the commitment that Andrew has made to his team mates and Cricket Australia over the last six to 12 months they are the final straw.”

Will he ever play for Australia again? It looks doubtful at this stage given the number of chances he has been given and the talent waiting in the wings.

Australia look good but Symonds omission could weigh

In an earlier post, Julian Linden argued that Australia’s cricketers have all the firepower needed to retain the Ashes in England despite some relatively new faces in the squad.

Here Ed Osmond takes a different view, wondering if the absence of Andrew Symonds and Australia’s lack of spin options may help the English.

England should be highly delighted by Australia’s decision to omit all-rounder Andrew Symonds from their Ashes squad.

The big Queenslander may have had disciplinary issues over the past year, but his cricketing ability should not be under-estimated.

Always a talented stroke player, Symonds has added steel and composure to his batting, which he showed in making vital test centuries against England in Melbourne in 2006 and India in Sydney in 2008.

His gentle medium-pacers or off-spinners do not usually cause too many problems for batsmen but Symonds has a presence which makes him an ideal potential partnership breaker and he is one of the best outfielders in world cricket.