Andrew Flintoff: His greatest innings and best deliveries

He struck 18 fours and five sixes in his 142, but as his team-mates fell around him it was not enough to make South Africa bat again.

95 v South Africa at The Oval, London – Fifth Test, September 2003

A blistering knock of 95 helped England grab the initiative after South Africa, leading the series 2-1, had looked to bat the hosts out of the series with their 484 batting first.

England would surpass that thanks to Flintoff who combined in a 99-run stand for the ninth wicket with Steve Harmison, who added just six runs, as England declared on 604 for nine. Flintoff struck 14 fours and four sixes with the momentum of his quickfire knock helping England go on and win the Test by nine wickets and level the series 2-2.

167 v West Indies at Edgbaston, Birmingham – Second Test, August 2004

The highest score of his Test career came during arguably Flintoff’s best period with the bat during his career.

In a record-breaking summer for England, when they won all seven Tests against the touring New Zealand and West Indies, Flintoff passed fifty in each match. The highlight was his 167 at Edgbaston where he flayed a weakened West Indies attack, led by Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore and Jermaine Lawson.

102 v Australia at Trent Bridge, Nottingham – Fourth Test, August 2005

Flintoff’s first-innings century proved pivotal in a Test victory that gave England the 2-1 lead that would secure them their first Ashes series win in 18 years.

It was characteristically an all-guns blazing stay at the crease as the Lancastrian struck 14 fours and a six, while also adding 177 for the sixth wicket with Geraint Jones. The century, the fifth of his Test career, was also the last time Flintoff reached the milestone.

Andrew Flintoff – greatest Test wickets

1998 J Kallis c Stewart b Flintoff 47, fourth Test v South Africa at Trent Bridge

Debatable whether this delivery, which nipped back to take the inside edge, ranks in Flintoff’s top drawer. It got him going on debut, though, broke a very handy stand of 79 – and Kallis is a five-star first victim for anyone, in a cauldron of a series England fought back to win.

2004 B Lara b Flintoff 0, third Test v West Indies at Old Trafford

It is hard to imagine much higher testament of anyone’s skills than to say master batsman Lara was no match for them. On this occasion at least, there was no argument – Flintoff terrorising the Windies captain before bowling him round his legs with a pinpoint delivery of extreme pace, in a series England won 4-0 as they gathered their glorious 2005 momentum.

2005 R Ponting c G Jones b Flintoff 0, second Test v Australia at Edgbaston

Flintoff followed up his crucial runs with a spell of the highest class on the third evening of a famous match England would win by two runs. Having cleaned up Justin Langer, he concluded the same over – full of fast inswingers – with a leg-cutter to see off the Australia captain for a fourth-ball duck.

2005 M Hayden b Flintoff 36, third Test v Australia at Old Trafford

Flintoff et al more or less routinely eliminated Hayden’s threat at the top of the order and Adam Gilchrist’s game-breaking middle-order potential throughout the summer. When he bowled the opener round his legs with more searing pace, it did not prove to be quite enough to help force an England victory in Manchester – but it was symptomatic of the hosts’ unexpected series supremacy.

2008 J Kallis b Flintoff 64, third Test v South Africa at Edgbaston

Flintoff was inspired as he tore into a well-set Kallis and roused the crowd with a magnificent display of fast bowling. Flintoff narrowly missed the off stump with a yorker before ruffling Kallis with two short balls and then having a good lbw appeal turned down. He soon got his man, however, bowling him with an inswinging yorker next over.

2009 P Siddle b Flintoff 7, second Test v Australia at Lord’s

An on-fire Flintoff tore through the Australia lower order on the final morning as the tourists chased a mammoth and unlikely victory target. With four wickets already to his name, Flintoff steamed in again off a shortened run-up, producing a repeat of the delivery which nipped back to bowl Nathan Hauritz a few minutes earlier.

Siddle was done through the gate and the England players mobbed Flintoff for a performance which won them the second Test – and produced a rare five-wicket haul for Freddie.

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