Australia captain Ricky Ponting sympathised with Andrew Flintoff's decision to go freelance but said the all-rounder's international future was now open to question.

Flintoff, who retired from Test cricket last month after England's Ashes triumph because he said his injury hit body could no longer stand the strain of the five-day game, announced on Tuesday he was turning down the offer of a second tier, incremental, contract from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).