Andrew Flintoff (born December 6, 1977, Preston, Lancashire) is an English cricketer and one of the best all-round cricketers in the world, bearing comparison with Ian Botham. He plays country cricket for Lancashire County Cricket Club, where he picked up the nickname "Freddie" due to similarities with Fred Flintstone.

After making his Test match debut for the England cricket team in 1998 against South Africa, his early career was hampered by a series of back problems and a tendency to lose his wicket too readily when batting while trying to score runs. He remodelled his bowling action in 2001 and returned to the England team, proving an economical bowler, and also scoring his maiden Test century in 2002. In the 2003 tour of the West Indies, he took five wickets in the test in Barbados, and scored a century in Antigua.

Although injury prevented him from bowling, he was called into the England squad for the 2004 Nat West One-day International Series against New Zealand and the West Indies as a specialist batsman, scoring two consecutive centuries in the series and hitting seven sixes in one innings.

In 2004 he was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year and the International Cricket Council's One-day International player of the year.

External link