[Kizza]

I was praising Collingwood for batting for 5 hours, so shut up and maybe stop being an idiot. It takes alot of mental thoughness to bat for 5 hours. Better then all our tailenders? How many centuries has Swann made, cos Johnson's made a test century. Oh, that'd be none.

[Silleh Willeh]

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has announced he will retire from Test cricket at the end of the current Ashes series against Australia.

The hero of England's victorious 2005 Ashes campaign has fought a constant battle against injuries and will now concentrate on one-day cricket.

Flintoff, 31, is currently fighting to be fit for the second Test at Lord's.

The Lancashire star is now struggling with a knee injury that flared up after the first Test draw in Cardiff.

Flintoff has so far played for his country 75 times in an 11-year Test career since his debut against South Africa in a famous England victory at Trent Bridge.

But undoubtedly his finest hours came in the 2-1 series success at home to Australia in 2005.

It was a summer which saw the best of Flintoff's cricketing ability, as well as his sportsmanship.

After a duck and then three in the first Test at Lord's, he made half-centuries in each innings and took seven wickets as England fought back thrillingly to win by just two runs and level the score at Edgbaston - where his hand-on-shoulder consolation for a beaten Brett Lee became perhaps the iconic image of the whole series.

Flintoff's maiden Ashes hundred helped bring a second home win in Nottingham, and there were more runs and wickets as England regained the urn in a fifth-Test draw at The Oval.

With 2005 captain Michael Vaughan out injured, Flintoff himself was to lead England in their ill-starred bid to retain the Ashes in 2006-07, a series that ended in a 5-0 whitewash.

He lost the vice-captaincy under Vaughan after his drunken late-night escapade in a pedalo at the start of a notably unsuccessful 2007 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean.

Hopefully he goes out with a bang if he cant be fit that is. Too much One day cricket and IPL me thinks.

Any tailender could hit a century of the shit bowlers South Africa had, when you played over there so shut up and maybe stop acting like an idiot.

[Kizza]

Whatever. Steyn aint ranked the number 1 fast bowler for nothing though.

Solid start for England. Strauss batted very well. The best innings i've seen from him. We came back later on in the session, getting the vital wickets of Collingwood and Flintoff.

Just quickly, someone please explain the hype about Flintoff. He averages 31 and has made 2 centuries I believe in 76 tests. 219 wickets at 32 isn't a bad return from an all rounder. Although I bet Kallis wants to kill rabbits everytime someone says he's the best all rounder around. He's basically England's Andrew Symonds. A pisshead :P.

[Silleh Willeh]

Flintoff isn't a great All-Rounder he is just a very good one like Michael Atherton said, he has had great series like India 2004 & Ashes 2005 he is good when on form but very poor when not. We started of real well and I was sorry to see Cook go just before his chance to get a century, at the home of Cricket. Strauss did a superb captain innings but as the day wore down, we lost wickets when we didn't need to which was very dissapointing. Hopefully we can get 400-450, and then we get to see how well the bowling attack does this time with Onions in, instead of Harmy.

[Kizza]

Is this Onions any good? I've never seen him play. Cos I know Harmison got 6 wickets during the 1st test, and I miss his first deliveries to 2nd slip
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[Kizza]

Jesus Christ we are playing horribly. 6/139, and we'll struggle to make the follow on unless Johnson can pull out some more magic like he did against South Africa, but I doubt it. England have somehow really got their shit together.

I'm adamant that Hughes didn't hit that though, and Ponting's was just wierd, as he hit his foot with the bat, and was given out caught. Fuck i hate Rudi Kourtzen.

[kertonl]

I have a rather strange feeling england are going to win this test
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[Kizza]

This umpiring is terrible. A catch when the ball bounced, a catch off a no ball and a catch when he never even hit the ball. Doctrove & Rudi deserved to be sacked. Ponting should lodge a complain or whatever about the piss poor umpring. Why wasn't Strauss' referred when Hauritz's was? If you're going to be bad, at least do it consistantly.

[Squibo]

I'll laugh if Australia do the unthinkable and win from here.

[kertonl]

Kizza you mean bad when pointing missed a catch and an easy run out?