Botham: Give Freddie holiday
Botham: Give Freddie holiday
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Liverpool have won the dress rehearsal for the FA Cup final as they beat West Ham 2-1 at Upton Park. |
Thursday, 27, Apr 2006 09:03
Ian Botham calls for England's all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to be given time off instead of playing in the Champions Trophy.
Botham is afraid that Freddie will be burnt out by the time the Ashes come around in the winter and that he should be left out of the one day tournament.
The former England star is concerned about the fitness of the man who has finally emulated his all-rounder brilliance.
Botham questions the use of a one day competition so soon before the World Cup which is coming early in 2007 in the West Indies.
Botham said: "I don't know what the Champions Trophy is all about. Slotting it in five months before the World Cup is beyond me.
"If I was Andrew Flintoff I would say I'm looking forward to the summer and Australia - in between I'm on holiday."
He added: "I think it's greed taking over from common sense. They are killing the goose that lays the golden egg and it wouldn't surprise me to see a lot of second teams playing in it."
England are due to play Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka this summer before they tour Australia at Christmas.