Gatting backs ‘free spirit’ Flintoff

FORMER England captain Mike Gatting believes Andrew Flintoff is a “free sprit” who should be allowed to “run free” in the England team once he regains full fitness.

The all-rounder is currently recovering from a third operation on a troublesome ankle problem and is not expected to be available for a number of months, with England about to embark on a Test series in Sri Lanka without him.

Flintoff has remained in the spotlight thanks to revelations in former coach Duncan Fletcher’s forthcoming book that a training session during the most recent tour of Australia had to be abandoned because the then captain was still under the influence of alcohol.

Flintoff’s drinking habits became known during the World Cup finals earlier this year when he was involved in a bizarre, late-night incident with a pedalo, but Fletcher has since tipped the all-rounder to skipper his country once more.

And Gatting, who has begun a new role for the England and Wales Cricket Board, insisted it was important to treat Flintoff as a player who could win matches rather than a liability who needed to be watched carefully.

He said, “Freddie is an Ian Botham-type character. He is a free spirit and you generally try to let free spirits run free.”

The Fletcher revelations had also brought back bad memories.

Gatting added, “I was disappointed on both sides to be perfectly honest. Freddie was captain and had responsibilities as a captain and, likewise, Fletch was in charge of the team so he had responsibilities. That is what people should look at.

“You always want the right publicity. It is not nice when you have that sort, but we all know that is what newspapers like to print.

“If there is something like that, then it is obviously very readable and newsworthy. And it keeps cricket on the sports pages during the winter.”

Gatting is five weeks into his new job as the ECB’s managing director of cricket partnerships, a role designed to forge links from the grass roots to the professional arena below international level.

The former Middlesex batsman, who scored 10 centuries in 79 Tests and was the last England captain to beat the Australians Down Under, was hopeful of pushing through an initiative to bring the nation’s umpires and scorers under the ECB banner, where they would be able to hone their skills in a number of ways.

The majority of those currently belong to the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers and that organisation is to hold a ballot later this month, with the results expected next month.

Gatting said, “This is a huge partnership and we would like them to come on board. It is not about pushing people into becoming Test umpires.

“It is about helping them to be what they want to be. If they want to be a village green umpire, then they can and we will help them.

“They will be able to see a DVD with footage they can watch and then make up their own minds.

“At the bottom there might be something that then tells you ‘you got it right’ or ‘you got it wrong.’

“Hopefully there are things out there that will make being an umpire and learning about the game more enjoyable.”