WE are still no nearer to knowing whether Andrew Flintoff will be named in the England squad for next week's first Test against New Zealand at Lord's.
The issue of the ace all-rounder's fitness after a fourth left ankle operation has been already been solved.
He is fit enough. Barring a last minute catastrophe, there should be absolutely no questions about that. But it is his form that is still unfathomable.
advertisement
The 30 year-old yesterday starred with the ball, taking three wickets to leave Durham in tatters at 28-3 in pursuit of 323 to win this County Championship match at Old Trafford.
He removed Mark Stoneman, Kyle Coetzer and Paul Collingwood, all caught behind by Luke Sutton, in a devastating six over burst that cost him just seven runs.
But earlier he had slumped again with the bat to record his second duck of the game, while Paul Horton's brilliant 108 helped the Red Rose county to 293 in their second innings.
This time he was bowled by little known medium pacer Garry Park after facing five balls.
He has now scored just 68 runs from seven county innings in total this season, including three consecutive four-day ducks.
Not even England one-day captain Collingwood can shed any light on the selection dilemma: "I am not an England selector," he smiled.
"But from what I have seen this week, he is pretty much back to his best with the ball.
"What I have faced over the past few days has been scary stuff, and some exceptional bowling.
"I am sure he is a little concerned with the batting, and he would probably have liked a few more runs than he has got.
"But he is one of those types of batters who can click with just one shot."
Former Walkden professional Paul Wiseman took 4-87 to reduce Lancs from 224-3 to 293 all out.
Horton held the innings together with his 174-ball ton, that included 16 fours and one cut six off Steve Harmison.
Pakistan Test batsman Mohammad Yousuf chipped in with 40, while Mark Chilton hit 37 and Kyle Hogg 33.
And then it was all about Flintoff's bowling prowess. He steamed in - probably propelled along by the anger of his batting display.
Lancs need seven more wickets to claim their first four-day win of the season today.
As for Flintoff's England place, we will find out on Sunday.
Francois Du Plessis scored an unbeaten 98 as Lancs' second team beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
