THERE'S ONLY ONE FREDDIE FLINTOFF

THE following article appeared in this morning's News of the World - prior to England's Ashes victory today...

WHAT a fitting end it would be. What a way to say farewell to Freddie.

Andrew Flintoff has just two more days, possibly one, as an England Test cricketer. And winning the Ashes at The Oval would be the perfect send-off for him.

There has been so much written and spoken about Freddie - so much debate about whether he has been a truly great Test player or not - that there is little more to add really.

The one thing that I want to say is simple... it has been an absolute privilege to play alongside a fantastic cricketer and a fantastic guy.

Freddie has struggled with too many injuries this summer and maybe hasn't made the impact he would have liked in this thrilling series.

His retirement would leave a void in any side. But in England's case, it is one that Stuart Broad, can certainly fill.

After Freddie had holed out trying to hit Marcus North into the stands yesterday - very fitting - he walked up the steps to an Oval ovation and there was Broad coming down the steps. How appropriate.

Yes, I know it is a big call. And a big burden of expectation. The last thing Stuart would want or need is to be called the new Freddie. And he won't be. He's his own player.

He has shown in this game - and others - that he can become a world-class all-rounder for England.

His performance in this fifth Test has shown that he has accepted the responsibility of becoming England's number one all-rounder now that Freddie is leaving the Test match scene.

Stuart's bowling and batting are improving all the time. He is only 23 years old don't forget, and there is a lot of development yet to come from him.

But what impresses me most about Stuart is that he has a good cricketing brain. He is clearly an intelligent cricketer, as he showed with his superb bowling on Friday afternoon.

With Freddie bowing out, Stuart is the future. And Jonathan Trott might well be part of that exciting future too.

I never had a moment's doubt about Trott. I know all about his upbringing in South Africa and I know that he has the mental toughness needed to succeed.

At the start of the series, my mates asked me who would be able to come into the team and be strong enough to face Australia. I had no hesitation in saying Jonathan Trott.

He was unlucky in the first innings and then showed what a strong character he has when he batted in the most difficult of times when England were under pressure on Friday.

The scorebook doesn't tell all of that story. And that is the thing to remember about statistics.

There has been plenty of talk about the fact that the Australians have largely dominated the batting and bowling stats for this series, and yet look like losing. But how many of those hundreds were match-winning hundreds?

How many of those wickets taken in match-winning spells?

The fact is that some runs are bound to be more important than others, some wickets are more important than others.

It is clear that no-one has been particularly consistent in this series. But we have shown great spirit and great determination.

And Andrew Strauss has been brilliant. He has now set up a fantastic opportunity for us to reclaim the Ashes from the Aussies.

And wouldn't it be great if Freddie said goodbye to Test cricket with one of his bravura performances with the ball?

For what he's done for the English game, he deserves it.

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