So Long ,Fred

When Freddie Flintoff puts an end to his miseries at the Oval it would be sad to see one of the last remnants of the 'quite a character' field fade away from the glorious theatre of test match cricket .Plaudits have been plenty and arguements have been made as to why Flintoff wont be considered a great of the game,most of them statistical in nature with maybe a semblance of truth in their rationale .

But how many times have we seen a modern day bowler bowling at his most ferocious with a battered knee go unchanged for an entire session ? These are things that make test cricket the game it is and give you the kind of high unmatched in the less purer varieties of the game . And aristes who give us these thrills are to be celebrated and admired no less for these very virtues.

Blessed with skills as heavy as his own bulk and never short of a vice the journey of Fred from that of an untutored youth to almost a Botham like image has been sincere and fascinating . The pinnacle of this journey was captured in the one over he bowled at Edgbagston in one of the greatest test matches of all time .And that arm around a devastated Brett Lee after which he later quipped that he had told Brett at that moment of truth that 'its 1-1 you aussie what not' typify the man .A sincere bloke with a decent sense of humour . A guy who would rank up with the Warne's and the Lee's and the Lara's and the likes who embodied great fighting qualities but were genuine and sportsmanlike in their appreciation of their opponents abilities .

My memory of Fred will be from the Chennai Test of 2008 as I was sitting in the stands biting my fingernails as Sachin crafted a great innings to win a great test match . Fred was treated with great respect by the Indian Batsmen , the whole stadium watched in great anxiety as he ran into bowl and there was a sense he would ruin the party whenever he had the ball in his hand.In short he was a cut above the rest and as he made a coupla consecuitve diving stops at fineleg and doffed his hat the crowd roared in appreciation .So did I .

So long, Freddie .