Stop turning me against Freddie.

I love Flintoff, he's a great British all rounder and I love his happy approach to the game (in contrast to, for example, Collingwood).



That said, I am getting fed up with Freddie fever.

Hearing today that Broad's performance yesterday was a rival for Freddie's at Lords was supremely irritating. 5-37 is considerably better than 5-92, whichever way you look at it.

His batting has not been extraordinary either:
37 + 26 at Sophia Gardens
4 + 30 (not out) at Lords
74 (and a good 74 at that) at Edgbaston
7 at the Oval.

An average of nearly 30 is not bad, but it is not even as good as Collingwood who scored only 4 runs across both innings at Headingly, where Flintoff was rested.

Bowling he has 8 wickets for 375 runs, which is not comparable to Collingwood's better 1 for 38 (because of the difference in scale), but Anderson has taken 12 for 496, despite playing in the disaster that was Headingly and Broad has racked up an astonishing 17 for just 473 runs.

I'm not saying Flintoff isn't great, he is, and I am not expecting him to perform as well as the batsmen and the bowlers, but why he is being lauded to quite the extent he is, I cannot understand. Sadly this media frenzy is turning me against him, when I want desperately to have him leave the scene with a great series.

Yes he is good, but he's no Botham.