Nobody hates him but he's obviously out of form and everyone's using him as a stick to beat EB with after he maybe exagerrated Broad's status in the game a little.
English Captaincy
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Nobody hates him but he's obviously out of form and everyone's using him as a stick to beat EB with after he maybe exagerrated Broad's status in the game a little.
Fred was outstanding in one or two series but underperformed in the vast majority
His batting average should have been 45 and his bowling average mid - high 20s. It wasnt because he could never replicate his Ashes heroics in any other series.
However, like Broad he is a big game player I will give him that
Aleem Dar
Striker
I think Freddie did change the game, but it wasn't his stats that did it. It was his character with Pietersen that made cricket "cool" again in this country. Botham had the same effect.
Beefy had a test bowling average of 28.40 and a batting average of 34. I stand corrected but that was when there were uncovered pitches and helmets were just coming into fashion and the pitches not as flat as what you find now.
Fred had a test batting average of 31.77 (Broad has a test batting average of nigh on 27 if you want a direct comparison and most perceive Broad to be a bowler who can bat a bit)
Freds bowling average was a shade under 33. Broad by comparison is only 36 and most want him out of the team after a poor run of form.
Aleem Dar
Striker
Jesus H Christ. Did I not just say it wasn't about his stats? Flintoff, IMO, changed the perception of cricket among the younger generation. It was percieved to be dull, monotomous and for posh people. Flintoff, and then Pietersen, have come in and shown that cricket can be fun while playing and you can still play while having an active social life. There hadn't been a character like that since Botham. Sure people will still argue his stats but for a lot of people Flintoff wasn't "the podgy one who had a decent average" he's the "larger than life character who gets pissed and steals pedalos".
he was a loveable hero, who liked a beer and unlike most english cricketers wasnt snooty or came from a particular posh background.
The europhoria after the 2005 Ashes soon died and what has made cricket fashionable again more than anything is 20/20
To paint Flintoff in the same breath as Beefy is frankly bollocks
blackcat1395
Winger
but its ok to paint broad in the same breath as Beefy. Oh fuck off
I seem to remember the 2009 Ashes re-igniting that euphoria, then it continuing with the 2010/11 series (despite that one not counting because the Aussies were shite apparently). The rise of what's little more than high profile quick cricket has had, at best, a minimal impact on interest within the game in England.
Like it or not, Freddie had the impact on the game in England that Botham did, and it's the fact we've now got players that can compete with the best in test cricket that interest has remained high.
chelt_mackem said:
I would say that the last two Ashes wins have had next to impact on the casual observer due to Giles Clarke selling the long term viability of the sport to SKY for a quick buck.
correct. Most who attend 20/20 do so because its quick and they can have a drink, they have no interest in test cricket.
The Ashes mean nothing to the masses
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