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England’s press held Andrew Flintoff to their bosom following his stunning last-day spell that led to his side ending a 75-year Ashes drought at Lord’s.
“INFREDIBLE” roared the back pages of The Sun and the Daily Mirror while the Daily Express labelled it a “Fred-letter day at Lord’s”.
But the biggest praise came from England’s chief Ashes destroyer of the 1980s in Sir Ian Botham, he rated Flintoff’s spell of 3-43 as the best by an Englishman since Bob Willis’s legendary spell at Headingley of 1981.
“Not only did Flintoff bowl like thunder on his farewell Test appearance at Lord’s, but it was the most sustained, hostile, accurate display of fast bowling I’ve seen from an Englishman since Bob Willis at Headingley in 1981,” he wrote in the Daily Mirror.
“Big Bob won’t mind me saying this, because his 8-43 at Leeds 28 years ago will always be very special to anyone who saw it, but he was bowling on a helpful wicket that day.
“But Flintoff’s effort was almost superhuman – because he produced a match-winning performance on a flat pitch.
“There was nothing in that Lord’s wicket to encourage any pace bowler, but Fred was the only one on either side who was prepared to extract any life out of it by flogging himself to breaking point.”
The comparisons to Flintoff’s rousing performances in the 2005 series came thick and fast.
Former England quick Angus Fraser said Flintoff’s display had demonstrated why he was such a popular figure around the country.
“During an unbroken 10-over spell from the Pavilion End, Flintoff highlighted just why he has won the hearts and minds of nearly every England supporter in the land over the last decade,” he wrote in The Independent.
Former England skipper Nasser Hussain continued the praise.
“What a monumental effort we have seen from Flintoff,” he wrote in The Daily Mail.
“Who writes his scripts, as they used to say about Ian Botham?
“It was Flintoff’s last Test at Lord’s and to produce a spell of bowling like that was a truly fantastic effort, one to which Australia had no answer.”
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