Brad Haddin was out, the Long Room was enraptured and England was on its merry way to a first Lord’s Ash
es Test victory for 75 years when Andrew Strauss, the captain, turned his thoughts to how long Andrew Flintoff might be expected to bowl with such venom. Strauss said later: “After he took that first wicket this morning, he said, ‘By the way, just to let you know, I’ll keep on going until all the wickets are gone.’ I said, ‘It sounds like a good plan to me.’” The irresistible force of Flintoff’s pace and precision smashed Australia’s resistance and finally wrote the name of the crocked colossus with the pin-cushion knee on the board of English bowlers who have claimed five Test wickets in an innings at this great London warehouse of myth and legend. To allow his pre-lunch rampage to outshine one of the finest England team performances anyone here could remember might seem reductionist and surrender to the cult of personality. But one of the enduring charms of team sports is that gifted individuals can burst from the fog of collective responsibility and steal the show with their own unstoppable talent. From the moment Haddin could only deflect a fizzing Flintoff delivery to Paul Collingwood in the slips — the Australian wicketkeeper departed without adding to his overnight 80 — this history-making second Test became a study in one man’s quest to leave an audience not just wanting but slavering for more.
es Test victory for 75 years when Andrew Strauss, the captain, turned his thoughts to how long Andrew Flintoff might be expected to bowl with such venom. Strauss said later: “After he took that first wicket this morning, he said, ‘By the way, just to let you know, I’ll keep on going until all the wickets are gone.’ I said, ‘It sounds like a good plan to me.’” The irresistible force of Flintoff’s pace and precision smashed Australia’s resistance and finally wrote the name of the crocked colossus with the pin-cushion knee on the board of English bowlers who have claimed five Test wickets in an innings at this great London warehouse of myth and legend. To allow his pre-lunch rampage to outshine one of the finest England team performances anyone here could remember might seem reductionist and surrender to the cult of personality. But one of the enduring charms of team sports is that gifted individuals can burst from the fog of collective responsibility and steal the show with their own unstoppable talent. From the moment Haddin could only deflect a fizzing Flintoff delivery to Paul Collingwood in the slips — the Australian wicketkeeper departed without adding to his overnight 80 — this history-making second Test became a study in one man’s quest to leave an audience not just wanting but slavering for more.For further details visit as : www.hindu.com/2009/07/22/stories/2009072257371800.htm
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