Lethal weapon

Andrew Flintoff’s brutal onslaught at Trent Bridge was an imperious example of how to raise the roof in the last 10 overs of a one-day innings. Flintoff came to the crease with England stuttering, and blasted them to somewhere near impregnability with 50 not out off 28 balls. Bizarrely, it was his first half-century in a one-day international in England.

Aside from the effortless power of his strokeplay, the defining feature of Flintoff’s innings was his improvisation. As our graph shows, Flintoff stepped out to almost half of his deliveries, and in the process plundered 32 runs at a rate equivalent to 13.71 runs per over.

Flintoff was on the front foot in every sense. He stepped across his stumps to deposit Chaminda Vaas high over square leg for six, and eased forward to launch Dilhara Fernando’s slower ball a long way over extra cover for six.

Many observers would have Flintoff at No. 3, but he showed today what a lethal weapon he can be at No. 6 or 7, where there is no danger of losing him to the new ball. It didn’t matter where Sri Lanka bowled. Off 17 deliveries that pitched on a good length, Flintoff whacked 29 runs. When they dropped short it was 11 off 4 balls; when they overpitched 10 off 7. He was unstoppable.

Rob Smyth is on the staff of Wisden.com.