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Flintoff out of fourth Ashes Test
Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley on Friday, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: August 07, 2009 08:44 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Leeds, England:
Flintoff has been troubled throughout this series by a right knee injury. Following a nets session here on Thursday, it has now been decided the fast bowler is not fit enough to withstand the demands of a five-day match.
A statement on the ECB website said: "England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will play no part in the penultimate Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley due to a knee injury.
"The England management this morning confirmed he is not fit enough to play."
His absence is a big blow for England. It was Flintoff who led England to victory with the ball in their 115-run second Test win at Lord's and top-scored for the hosts in the drawn third Test at Edgbaston.
The 31-year-old's career has been blighted by injuries and earlier this season Flintoff announced he would retire from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes series.
England, 1-0 up in the five-match series, said they would announce their team, including Flintoff's replacement, at the toss. This is due to take place, weather permitting, at 10:30am local time (0930 GMT).
England, who named a 14-man squad for this match, have several options to cover the loss of Flintoff.
They could hand a debut to uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott or recall either fast bowler Stephen Harmison or left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley on Friday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced.Flintoff has been troubled throughout this series by a right knee injury. Following a nets session here on Thursday, it has now been decided the fast bowler is not fit enough to withstand the demands of a five-day match.
A statement on the ECB website said: "England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will play no part in the penultimate Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley due to a knee injury.
"The England management this morning confirmed he is not fit enough to play."
His absence is a big blow for England. It was Flintoff who led England to victory with the ball in their 115-run second Test win at Lord's and top-scored for the hosts in the drawn third Test at Edgbaston.
The 31-year-old's career has been blighted by injuries and earlier this season Flintoff announced he would retire from Test cricket at the end of this Ashes series.
England, 1-0 up in the five-match series, said they would announce their team, including Flintoff's replacement, at the toss. This is due to take place, weather permitting, at 10:30am local time (0930 GMT).
England, who named a 14-man squad for this match, have several options to cover the loss of Flintoff.
They could hand a debut to uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott or recall either fast bowler Stephen Harmison or left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket England Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team
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