Six years after he said his farewell to international Cricket, Freddie Flintoff is amongst the England squad again; the ex-England Test Captain, who was regularly rated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as being among the top international all-rounder in both One-Day-Internationals (ODI) and Test cricket, was called by the England head coach Peter Moores to offer his help and advice at training.
Flintoff is now playing in the Australian Big Bash League for the Brisbane Heat. He took part in the England team's practice over the weekend to boost the young squad's moral and provide them with some local tips on the Gabba, where England plays the Tri-Series match against India on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old looked excited to be involved as he took to the nets and bowled.
Some older players, like Ian Bell, 32, who recently scored 187 from 145 balls as England beat the Prime Minister's XI by 60 runs in Canberra, had opportunity to play alongside the tall, fast bowler on many occasions; both Bell and Flintoff were members of the successful Ashes campaign in 2005, for which they were both awarded the MBE. However, for younger players in the England squad, this was the chance to share some time with the cricket legend who inspired so many youngsters during the iconic 2005 Ashes.
Moores, during his first stint in charge in England, enjoyed excellent partnership with Flintoff and has now called for his advice to the team's bowlers ahead of the matches with India and Australia, in Hobart on Friday.
While Flintoff has been welcomed into England's inner circles by Moores, Kevin Pietersen, another former England international, who now plays in the Australian Big Bash League for the Melbourne Stars, has been turned down to join the squad. There are still some bitter memories and unsettled issues between him and Moores. However, Pietersen, now the leading run-scorer for the Stars in the Big Bash, is determined to show his former coach what he will be missing, by demonstrating some memorable cricket.
