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Batting for Lancs now.

Come on Freddie.

Meh - I believe his England days are winding down. A classic example of how the media built him up and, if we're honest, never fully lived up to what was "expected" of him.

He gave us some great moments though!

Go Freddie, prove Rich Pullen wrong

I don't think a Twenty20 slog will make much difference - it's in the test matches where I want to be proved wrong!

But T20 is the premier cricket code now...

Still an entertaining work-in-progress - It could easily fade away in time. Test match cricket is still number one for me.

50 from 32.

Just seen he took 3 wickets off 4 overs, with only 17 runs scored too.

Gone - silly shot.

Think your being a bit harsh on Freddie there Rich.Sure he could still do a very tidy job for England and i'm certain its only a matter of time [if he stays injury free] before he's back in the side.

It wasn't that silly a shot, just picked the lad out in the deep. If Flintoff does stay fit he's one of the best truly fast bowlers we have, and being handy with the bat is a help. So i agree with Larwood, its a matter of time if injury free and he'll be an asset to the side, although the media have blown his trumpet a bit.

Flintoff - Batsmen who bowls or a bowler who bats?

Definitely more of a bowler who bats. Started off more the otherway round, but as his bowling became more consistent his batting really suffered IMO.

Freddie's been bowling very well,especially in the 20/20 games.The big question is over
his fitness and whether he has ironed out the foot/ankle problems when his foot lands,
as he's about to bowl.

I can remember him batting as high as number 3 even for England in the 1 day games,
when he first came on the scene.He was also very overweight at that time and fair
play to him,he worked really hard to get into shape.The weight problems contributed
to his back problems at that time.

Chin up Freddie,keep going mate!

As well as being a superb bowler and decent bat, Fred is brilliant in the slips. Very valuable player.

Who do you drop, assuming he's in the squad for the second test?

bell or collingwood if they dont deliver in this test

We need his bowling more than his batting - he's a number 7 as far as I'm concerned. I concede I may have been harsh but I remain certain that we need to look to the future instead of pushing an injury prone player.

He's back for the second test.

Interesting that. I would like to see who he replaces. My money is on Collingwood.

 In the squad, probably come in for Sidey...on present form should bat 9.

He had a good smack today though, 39* off 20 odd balls. But yeah bring him in as a bowler and any runs he gets are a bonus.

I'd imagine he's bat bat 7 or 8 with Ambrose and/or Broad sliding down a place.

 Ambrose should be dropped....doesn't look as if he will, but his batting is at best one dimensional and his keeping especially standing up is poor.  Really wicket keeper shouldbe Engalnd's best position as nearly all the 18 counties employ an English qualified keeper , so we have the largest pick.

Sidebottom did not look fit yesterday so i imagine he would miss out. Reg if Ambrose is dropped who would you pick as wicket keeper to replace him. It is out of 3 for me. Mustard, Jones or Prior.

But we have chopped and changed Wicket Keepers too much in the past and it has't worked. Why drop Prior in the first place? Or the other guy? There's no point in doing it again.

 Since Stewart, who as well as being good enough to get in on batting alone, was a very tidy keeper without being of the highest class, we've placed emphasise on batting. Unfortunately those picked have been semi decent batsmen and poor keepers.

 If they had been really strong batsmen you could overlook the odd bit of dodgy keeping. At the moment though we're getting neither runs nor top keeping.

  If Flintoff is in for Sidey, then he can bat 7, Broad 8 and the keeper could then bat 9.

   I'd have James Foster of Essex...he was fast tracked a while back, got a long term injury but now looks ready for a recall.

Foster batting has improved in the last 3-4 yrs. I think he averages about 40 in First class cricket. He would be a good shout.

Great. So let's recall another keeper that was dropped for no reason. I thought Foster should never have been dropped and did very well on the tour to New Zealand that year. Yet he went. Same goes for Read. If only we'd have actually stuck with one or the other. But this is England and their toss selectors i guess.

On a side note. When is Simon Jones back? Would be great to see him enter the fray again.

Not overly impressed with Ambrose, but there is no standout English 'keeper.
I see Craig Kieswetter wants a go when he is able to do so.

 Foster got a long term injury....

That was after he'd already been dropped though wasn't it?

he doing very well for Worcestershire at the moment. I would not be suprised if he was picked for the tour of India in November. I think he is involved in the Champs trophy squad which will be in Pakistan in Mid-September.

 It may well have been, but I think the injury meant that he fell completely out of favour.

Agree with that. Foster isn't brilliant however, Nasser Hussain was piping up about him last week, although i agree he has improved and a decent shout if he was as good as he was saying he'd be in the squad for the Champs trophy. Not Ambrose, the Colonel or that gobshite Prior. Think we've just a distinctly average set of keepers. Glovework-wise Read is the best, Foster isn't far behind if at all but they don't seem to fit the requirements for the selectors for some reason.

I'm looking forward to seeing Simon Jones coming back as he's a quality bowler, although that'll be a headache for the selectors as to who he should/could replace.

There was quite a bit of talk of jones being in the headingley side. Hes regularly taking wickets for worstershire, but hes another who seems to be made of glass.

I'd save Jones for now tbh. Maybe look at bringing him back for the last 2 tests, maybe even just the last so he can get a feel for it again and get a bit more county cricket under his belt. Would be great to see him back.