Freddie and willing: Flintoff deserves a Test place - even if it's just as a bowler

In an article for a well-known sports website this week, Justin Langer waxed lyrical about the bowling prowess of long-term injury sufferer Andrew Flintoff.

The English talisman of the 2005 Ashes series has been on the long road to recovery for some time now, but the former Australian international believes that Freddie is back to his best and warrants his place in England’s starting XI for the summer – even as a specialist bowler.

“There have been whispers that he needs to score runs to scrape into the England line-up,” he said. “But I have never known Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh or Glenn McGrath having to score runs to be selected.”

Even mentioning Flintoff in the same breath as these fast-bowling legends is testament to the esteem that Langer holds the England paceman in. Having faced him recently for Somerset against Lancashire, the Aussie believes that it is time to reintroduce Flintoff into the international scene – and the sooner the better.