Former England captain Flintoff retires

LONDON (AP):

Former England captain, Andrew Flintoff, retired from all forms of cricket with immediate effect yesterday, admitting defeat after a long battle against a serious knee injury.

The 32-year-old Lancashire all-rounder, who won 79 Test caps and became a national icon by playing a leading role in England winning back the Ashes in 2005, made his decision after speaking to a surgeon in Glasgow on Wednesday.

"Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigours of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire," Flintoff said.

His last match was a Test against Australia at The Oval in August 2009, when England won to regain the Ashes. In an 11-year Test career, he had 226 wickets at 32.78 and hit 3,845 runs with an average of 31.77.

Flintoff, who was prone to injuries owing to his heavy frame and the effort he put into his bowling action, underwent micro-fracture surgery on his right knee after last year's Ashes series and hoped to return for the start of this season. He had a second operation after suffering a setback in his recovery earlier this year.

"I was told that the problems I have been trying to overcome in rehab for the last year following the latest in a series of operations would not recover sufficiently to allow a comeback," Flintoff said.

"I'm not quite sure it's sunk in," he told Sky Sports. "I think it's going to take a while. It's going to be difficult, it's something I've done professionally for nearly 17 years. Since I was a kid all I've wanted was to play cricket."