So long Freddy....

Yeah, by '09 he was only showing the occasional glimpse of the matchwinner he had been, but that spell and the Drunky run-out played a major part in the outcome of that series.

Had he been on top form in 06-07 we would still have lost, so maybe he did perform at the right times, the two winnable Ashes series...

Farewell Sir Freddie, but perhaps one day he will rise again.

Better than Jesus?

or still a Flintosser?

not a great cricketer in the end but will probably be remembered more than many who were better than him for a great run that culminated in one of the more iconic series of our times

at his peak he was certainly reaching levels occupied by the greats of the game. it was a pleasure watching him

Indeed.

Could've been a great of the game, had Hussain not used as one to stem the flow of runs for large part of his bowling career. IMO that basically stuffed his knee forever since his knee bore the brunt of all those short of length deliveries.

Gilly looked like a rabbit when Freddy bowled his famous outside off line to him. Must've got him at least 3-4 times that way.

Thanks Freddy, for all the passion and genuine world class bowling that you gave to us over the past decade.


He was a cut above the rest of the England bowlers, in terms of natural talent and the ability to unhinge even the most set batsman. The Brisbane Test in 2006/07 & Multan in 2005 - where he set the benchmark.

He was a "This is how it's done" sort of bowler. Pity no-one really stepped up as Freddy's wing man beyond the euphoria days of 2003-2005.

I wish he'd known how to take wickets on a regular basis, though. He always looked fierce and threatening, but if only he'd pitched the ball up another 3 feet, he may have found the edge a lot more instead of beating it.

Henry wrote:Swann is arguably a better cricketer for England than Flintoff was, anyway.

How could Henry - who professed to love cricket - get anything so wrong?

lardbucket wrote:

Henry wrote:Swann is arguably a better cricketer for England than Flintoff was, anyway.

How could Henry - who professed to love cricket - get anything so wrong?

Well, Swanny was/is a bit of a knob but is definitely our best spinner of the past 45 years, whereas Freddie’s only our third-best all-rounder of that era…