Botham advises Flintoff not to rush back
Andrew Flintoff will put his career on the line if he returns to Test cricket against New Zealand next Thursday. That is the verdict of England legend and Flintoff's long-time friend and mentor - Sir Ian Botham.
Flintoff, 30, has made an impressive bowling comeback from his fourth ankle operation for Lancashire this season.
England name their 12-man squad for next week's opening Test on Sunday and Flintoff has made it clear he wants to be included.
But Botham says the all-rounder needs more time to prove his form and fitness before playing in his first Test since January 2007.
"I personally wouldn't pick Fred for England yet," Botham said. "I would just hold him back a bit. I'd like him to play a bit more county cricket.
"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. 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.
"He has been pushed back three or four times now, and what happens? We have an re-occurrence of the injury.
"Let him pick and choose his time and get 100 per cent fit where he has full confidence in his body and he can go out there and perform.
"I think it is a little early at the moment and I would like to see him get a little bit more mileage.
"But he also knows this is really make or break time because he's 30-years-old and he has had four ops on it, so it's got to be right.
"One of the areas that the England's bowlers have struggled with over the last few years is that they have not done enough bowling.
"That's why I would like to see Fred bowl for Lancashire."
While Flintoff is back to bowling somewhere near his best, his batting form has been woeful.
Sir Geoffrey Boycott had been tipped to be drafted in by England to help the 2005 Ashes winner with his technique.
But England bosses yesterday ruled out the possibility of Boycott working with the senior squad.
"We use Nasser Hussain to talk to age-group teams and that is what we envisage other former players doing," a spokesman for the England and Wales Cricket Board said.
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