Botham urges England to take their time with Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff is back to his best with the ball
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Thursday, 08, May 2008 09:59
England legend Sir Ian Botham has urged the national team selectors to be cautious when considering whether to bring back Andrew Flintoff.
Flintoff is thought to be close to making a comeback to international cricket and reports have suggested that the star all-rounder could even be back in the England team against New Zealand in the first Test at Lords next Thursday.
But Botham feels Flintoff needs more cricket under his belt to make sure he has fully recovered from the fourth ankle operation he had last October.
"I would just hold Fred back a bit. I'd like him to play a bit more county cricket," said Botham. "I'd like him to have plenty of overs under his belt and plenty of runs as a batsman come the South Africans because I think that will be a much sterner test.
"I'd just like him to be given that time to get his confidence back; full confidence in his body and more importantly in that ankle.
"England do need him but they need a fit Fred. But he also knows this is really make-or-break time because he's 30 years old and he's had four operations on it, so it's got to be right," added Botham.
Flintoff has had a mixed return to cricket – he has been back to his best on the bowling front but has struggled badly with the bat.
The Lancashire star has only managed 68 runs with the bat in seven competitive innings so far this season. But he has been taking wickets with the ball, including 4/21 against Durham in the County Championship yesterday.