Andrew Flintoff is already looking to extend his comeback beyond this summer after officially announcing he will play for Lancashire in the Twenty20 Blast.
Lancashire revealed today that Flintoff, 36, has re-signed for them, five years after injury ensured that the final Test of the 2009 Ashes series would be his last competitive match.
Former team-mate Kevin Pietersen has already speculated on a possible England return for Flintoff. While that is highly unlikely, Flintoff was at pains to stress that his decision was made for cricketing reasons alone.
“When I’m bowling it still hurts a bit, but I’m loving running into bowl and if I can take that into a game I might be quite dangerous,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.
“I don’t want it to be one year. You see (Australian spinner) Brad Hogg still playing, (Aussie batsman) Brad Hodge is playing for Australia at 39, (Lancashire captain) Glen Chapple is 40 and still charging-in in four-dayers.”
Flintoff may make his return in the Roses match against Yorkshire on June 6. He revealed that he had been spurred on to rejoin his old county when he was rejected for the MCC v Rest of the World match at Lord’s on July 5.
He added: “It was getting knocked back and wanting to play, practising and realising ‘I can still do this’, and there was unfinished business when I retired. I’d sooner try and have it not come off than sit at home for the rest of my days thinking, ‘I should have tried this.’ I don’t live like that.
“It is something that I never thought would happen. I have worked really hard to get back to my fittest and I hope that we have a successful summer. I’m just glad that I can be part of it.”
Flintoff’s return is bound to boost ticket sales at Old Trafford. But it remains to be seen whether his comeback will have any greater significance for cricket.
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Meanwhile. Chris Cairns has hit back at his accusers after returning to New Zealand from London, where he met police officers investigating suspicions of perverting the course of justice relating to his libel trail against Lalit Modi. “I was not arrested in London and I have not been charged with any offence,” Cairns said. “Every allegation that I have cheated at cricket, or attempted to induce others to cheat at cricket, is false.”
