Cricket: "Ashes: Andrew Flintoff has the opportunity to seal his Legend Status at Oval"

Grand finale: Andrew Flintoff has a chance to secure his place in English cricket history in his final Test against Australia at the Oval, which will decide the Ashes.

Freddie has always regarded himself as a batsman who bowls, often to the point of myopia. Everyone else, and this is something borne out by his Test record too, feels his strength lies as a fast bowler who managed the odd valuable innings, such as the brilliant hundred he made against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2005.

He could prove us all wrong during the Ashes decider that starts at the Oval on Thursday but it would be the exception rather than the rule. If you asked his captain, Andrew Strauss, whether he would prefer his retiring asset to sign off against Australia with a hundred or five wickets, he would plump for the latter without hesitation.

Discovering you are not who you think you are cannot be easy for any player, let alone one of Flintoff's public standing. Fortunately, any frustration is likely to have been tempered by his recovery from a succession of career-threatening injuries.

Overcoming them has been a major achievement in itself and worthy of celebration, as would a second Ashes victory for his team should one come to pass over the next few days.

It is those injuries, beginning with a fractured foot in 2000 right up to his recent knee problem incurred during the Indian Premier League, which probably prevented him from attaining true greatness as a player, but no-one can be certain. Not one driven to the pursuit of excellence, there is a large part of Flintoff that seems content to be good enough, which may be why he does not sit comfortably with the team's current management.

Not that his adoring public ever seemed to notice that his legend mostly exceeded his deeds. Five Test hundreds and three five-wicket hauls in 78 Tests is decent but not devastatingly good. If he had a peak it came between 2003 and 2006, when in more than 41 Tests he averaged 40 with the bat and 27.9 with the ball.

Impressive though that was, it is not Ian Botham-esque, the all-rounder all subsequent pretenders have been compared to. In 102 Tests, Botham made 14 hundreds and took 27 five-wicket and four 10-wicket hauls, the majority of them match-turning efforts. Flintoff has contributed his own match-altering performances, but like Mike Gatting, who will forever dine out on his two victories as England captain because they won the Ashes, they have added cachet for mostly being against Australia.

His all-round deeds against the Aussies in the ding-dong skirmish of 2005 (24 wickets and 402 runs), means he will be forever twinned with that extraordinary series. A player who generally sacrificed flair for power, he proved a revelation in that series, especially with his bowling, which combined the menace of the great West Indies quick's with the skill of Pakistan's great reverse-swinger, Waqar Younis.

If you want the perfect distillation, it was the over in Australia's second innings at Edgbaston in which he dismissed Justin Langer with the second ball and Ricky Ponting for naught with the last.

Unfortunately, his bowling never quite reached those heights of skill again, though his powers as a battering ram, his general modus operandi when the ball is not swinging, was vital at Lord's three weeks ago, where his five for 92 gave England victory. His many injuries may have prevented him from raising his skill levels over the years, but the rehabilitation required ensured he was always strong and fit enough to bowl fast, even if it was without frills.

Flintoff's main asset is that he provided certainty, especially with the ball, something every captain craves. He was not quite so accommodating towards the team effort off the field, as Fredalo and his bad time-keeping on a trip to Belgium honoring Britain's war dead have shown, but then discipline has never been his middle name.

Many feel he has changed of late, from a happy-go-lucky Preston lad to calculating cash cow, gratuitously flashing tins of Red Bull and his Puma kit to the nearest camera. What is plain is that he does not see his duties as a team man extending beyond the cricket pitch.

All will be forgiven and his legend secured should he repeat his Lord's performance here at the Oval. Analyzing the Flintoff phenomenon, Nasser Hussain once said that, "He has something of the village green to which people can relate." Let us hope that something ends with him getting a jug or two in here over the next few days.

Freddie Flintoff’s career highs and lows

v South Africa, The Oval, 2003
A rapid 95 enabled England to declare their first innings on 605 and level the Test series.

v Australia, Edgbaston, 2005
He scored 68 and 73 before dismissing Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting in the space of five balls.

v Australia, Trent Bridge, 2005
Flintoff’s last Test century enabled England to take a 2-1 lead.

v Australia, The Oval, 2005
Flintoff’s spell in the first innings has been described by Ricky Ponting as the best he has ever seen. Flintoff took five for 78.

v Australia, Lord’s, 2009
Five-wicket haul sealed England’s first Ashes win at Lord’s in 75 years.