FREDDIE SUFFERS NEW SETBACK
Andrew Flintoff's injury comeback took another blow as he was dismissed for a second duck in Lancashire's championship match with Durham.
The England all-rounder, who has not made a Test appearance since England's disastrous Ashes tour of Australia in January 2007 due to a persistent ankle problem, has struggled with the bat on his comeback to county action.
Flintoff was dismissed for a first-ball duck in Lancashire's opening innings at Old Trafford as they made just 143 all-out and the improvement was minimal for Flintoff in the second innings, lasting just five balls before being bowled by Garry Park.
Flintoff's bowling does continue to impress however, with the 2005 Ashes hero recording figures of 3-7 from six overs by stumps on Thursday, with combined figures of 7-28 from 19 overs.
But despite concerns over Flintoff's form with the bat, England legend Sir Jeff Boycott believes that England's selectors should be unconcerned with his current form and not rush his return from a fourth ankle operationoperartion.
"I would just hold Fred back a bit. I'd like him to play a bit more county cricket," Boycott told BBC Sport.
"I'd like him to have plenty of overs under his belt and plenty of runs as a batsman come the South Africans (later in the summer), 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."
But England one-day captain Paul Collingwood believes that Flintoff is strong enough to be able to come back into the England side, even if it is solely in a bowling capacity.
"He has run in really hard this week and it has been
impressive stuff," Collingwood told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"He has bowled around 90mph, got it to shape away a
touch and, as Fred always does, bowled in areas that are very difficult to
defend against, let alone score off.
"I am not a selector but from what I have seen this week he is pretty much back to his best with the ball."
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