His every move was dissected, his peccadillos probed, the comings and goings of his facial hair scrutinised.Flintoff has not reached that status. He has never played in a Test against Australia, never mind knocked them over. The tittle-tattle of other celebrities’ lives exercises much more attention – and do not suppose Freddie worries about that. Above all, he loved the way Botham won matches almost single-handedly.” And now Flintoff is beginning to exercise similar influence.Of course, the Botham in his 27th year had done somewhat more than the Flintoff in his 27th.

Wasn’t he everybody’s? As the new book My Life in Pictures, says: “Flintoff was much taken with Botham’s charisma on the field, the hex he appeared to have over the Australians, his attacking inclinations with both bat and ball, and his spectacular catching. It will all come back when I can get some bowling in.I see this as a challenge now, a different kind of challenge from the one that I faced when I injured my knee so badly In a way this is worse I had no control over that. I couldn’t play cricket, so I just had to concentrate on getting fit. Now I can play and I’m not being allowed to.I will have to have a chat to somebody, not to make any ultimatums, not to jump up and down or slap in a transfer request, but to get things sorted out.

Where do I stand? Nobody has told me.There is no bitterness or acrimony about being passed over by England. James Anderson, who took my place, is a big friend of mine and I wished him well straightaway. Of course I want to play, but this is the best side I’ve ever played in. We’re all in it for each other.From England’s point of view it has to be good that they have a stock of bowlers to pick from. Apart from the five seamers attached to this squad, I suppose you can add Lancashire’s Sajid Mahmood to the list. Maybe in the future, with so much cricket being played, it will give an opportunity for some kind of rotation to make sure people get rests.

Not that first, you would want to rotate Stephen Harmison just now, and second, that I need a rest.I am beginning to feel in useful nick again, I have worked a lot with Troy Cooley, the England bowling coach, and feel more comfortable as a result I’ll work at home again over the weekend But I need a cricket match somewhere soon. I wouldn’t say I’d consider any offers, but it makes you feel like that.In an interview with Stephen Brenkley. “Catches win matches” may be near the top of the list of cricketing clich?but, none the less, it contains one of the game’s essential truths: good sides seldom field scruffily; great sides never. A team that is in the cricketing doldrums as the West Indies are at the moment is almost invariably untidy in the field. On the other hand England’s fortunes are on the up and their outcricket generally has become sharper and more precise.
It was ironic, therefore, that rather than teaching the West Indies a lesson in that depart-ment in this Test, England should have allowed themselves to fall for some of the time to the level of their visitors. Has an easier catch ever been dropped at this level of the game than that by Michael Vaughan at short-midwicket from Shivnarine Chanderpaul off Ashley Giles when he was on 21? There can never be an adequate excuse for poor fielding.