We all know how much of a difference a fully fit Andrew Flintoff makes to the side so yesterday’s announcement this ashes series will be his last in Test cricket is extremely disappointing. But all of us in the England dressing room are determined to make sure we can give Fred the send-off he deserves by winning back The Ashes.
That would be great not just for him but all of us. Fred’s had a tough career with injuries, he’s a
great person to have in the dressing room and we’re all hoping he can stay fit for the rest of the summer.
Looking at what happened in Cardiff, it was obvious for all to see we did not play well, there’s no hiding behind that. But we also have to take a lot of credit for saving the game. Many of us, myself included, didn’t contribute enough but, even though we failed individually, we stuck together as a team and Team spirit will be key if we are to reclaim the Ashes displayed the spirit which is within this group of players.
You can’t quantify team spirit, it’s that magical thing which can make average teams good and good teams great. Many teams would have had their spirit broken in Cardiff given what we went through and the situation we found ourselves in on the final day. We weren’t broken and for that, we head into today’s second Test full of confidence. Yes, we need to up our game and our skills but we’ve got the chance to start afresh with a clean slate at lord’s and we intend to make the most of it.
May be part of the problem in Cardiff was nerves, there was such a big build-up to this series and that can sometimes affect you. But with that first game out of the way, we’re relishing this second chance.
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