Former England players hail retiring Flintoff

Former England players and coaches today hailed Andrew Flintoff as one of the greatest players of his generation, a day after he announced his retirement.

Flintoff (31) cited the strain of constantly coming back from injury as he announced he was quitting Test cricket.

Bowling great Ian Botham said Flintoff showed he was the one of the greatest all-rounders in 2005 when England defeated Australia to regain the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

"Throughout the summer he was the leader of the pack and was able to do almost anything he wanted on a cricket field," Botham wrote in the Daily Mirror newspaper.

"His batting, bowling and fielding were in perfect harmony and that can never be taken away from him," he said.

But he said Flintoff's decision to walk away from Test cricket at the end of the current Ashes series was unsurprising.

"Since then (2005) the body has let him down and you can't keep shoving needles into a bloke and expect him to be fine."

Flintoff has suffered a series of injuries that have blighted his career and he now has to overcome a knee problem if he wants to play in the second Ashes Test starting Thursday.

Michael Vaughan said Flintoff caused him to have more management meetings than anybody else during his time as England captain.

"But the match turning, series-winning performances that he put in more than outweighed the odd difficulty he caused," Vaughan wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Flintoff was dropped from the England team to face Canada at the World Cup in 2007, and stripped of the vice-captaincy, after staying out late drinking and riding a pedalo in the early hours.

Ex-England coach Duncan Fletcher wrote in the Guardian newspaper that Flintoff's injuries after 2005 meant he plateaued as a force at the international level.

But he concluded: "It all comes back to the same thing: make what you like of some of Flintoff's off-field behaviour but on the field he will be sorely missed."