Fred's Ashes bid on knife edge
By Ben Dorries
July 24, 2006
ENGLAND all rounder Andrew Flintoff has been tipped to rise from the despair of ankle surgery and be "ready, fresh and firing" to take the Ashes by storm this summer.
Flintoff ... Troy Cooley believes he'll be fit. Pic: Agence France-Presse
Troy Cooley, the former England fast bowling coach, insists Flintoff's surgery blow is a blessing in disguise for an injury-depleted England, which desperately needs his talent if it is to threaten Australia this summer.
The world's best all rounder and likely England Ashes skipper if he's fit will go under the surgeon's knife this week, ruling him out for three months, including the rest of the Test series against Pakistan and the ICC Champions Trophy in India.
It will leave him only a few weeks of net bowling, and possibly a first-class match against South Australia, before the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in November.
But Cooley, credited with giving England's bowlers a destructive advantage during last year's Ashes, says the enforced rest and rehabilitation will be a bonus for Flintoff.
"There's obviously a good reason why he's having the surgery now. I'm sure he'll be ready, fresh and firing when he gets here," Cooley said.
"I've seen 'Freddie' get prepared to play in next to no time. He will find a way to make sure he gets the bowling he needs before the Ashes.
"The surgery is the best thing for him because he will be injury-free and ready to go."
The news of Flintoff's injury is the latest of repeated setbacks to England in its quest to retain the Ashes.
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Ashes-winning skipper Michael Vaughan will miss the series with a knee injury, reverse-swing king Simon Jones has a similar problem and is unlikely to be fit and left-arm spin bowler Ashley Giles is labouring with a hip injury.
Former England skipper Michael Atherton fears history is in danger of repeating itself, saying the situation is similar to England's last tour of Australia in 2002-2003.
England arrived with several players who were not fully fit and Australia went on to retain the Ashes in a mere 11 days before winning the series 4-1.
"It was a shambolic start to England's last Ashes tour and the selectors were very clear when they said, 'We will not do this again. We will not take players who are not fully match-fit'," Atherton said.
"But they are going to be faced with this situation with Andrew Flintoff, that here's a guy who has played minimal cricket for the best part of eight or nine months, but a guy they want to captain the side out there.
"It's going to be an interesting question because he's going to be getting on that plane without any knowledge really that he's fully match-fit."
Arthroscopy to clear tiny fragments of ankle bone should not normally demand lengthy rehabilitation - South Africans Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock have had the operation successfully.
Meanwhile, Australia opening batsman Justin Langer has dismissed claims by national selector Merv Hughes that Australia was "too matey" with England during last year's shock Ashes loss.
Langer, who cracked a triple century for Somerset last week, said Hughes was off the mark.
"Imagine an Ashes contest being played like a village game. That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard," Langer said.
"We played good, hard cricket on the field and had a beer off it, and that's how it should be."
The Courier-Mail
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19888136-23212,00.html
