ADELAIDE: Captain Andrew Flintoff sparked an injury scare in the England camp after feeling pain in his ankle during the fourth day of the second Test against Australia on Monday. The Lancastrian underwent ankle surgery earlier this year and has complained of discomfort after playing back-to-back Tests in Australia.
He bowled only four overs on Monday when England needed to bowl out Australia quickly to have any real hope of pushing for victory and also left the field late in the day. Coach Duncan Fletcher said the injury was not serious and Flintoff only took a rest for precautionary reasons but he would be monitored closely over the next few days.
“He just felt some slight discomfort there and he just wanted to make sure everything was all right and he came off,” Fletcher told a news conference. “It’s a slight discomfort like Ashley Giles has to some degree coming back from injury. The medical people say having been off for so long you’re going to have these slight discomforts and it’s best just to take some precautionary action.”
The all-rounder bowled 35 overs in the series opener in Brisbane, which finished last Monday, plus another 26 in Adelaide on a flat wicket.
“He’s done quite a bit of bowling and it’s just having played a lot of cricket,” he said. “There’s no worries at the moment. We’re just going to have to wait and see how it is the next couple of days. But from the advice we’ve been given, we’re not even going to send him for a scan at this stage.”
