Ah Freddie

It was coming. Given the four-year waiting game he's played with his fitness, Andrew Flintoff's retirement should come as little surprise. The force of a 17-stone juggernaut hammering in at 90mph must take its toll on the pitch, let alone the man himself. Perversely, his ability and enthusiasm may have shortened his career - Sourav Ganguly reckons England's dependency on his ability to swing a game meant he was overworked.

Freddie's made light of his fragility before, suggesting his surgeon fit a zip in his ankle for easy access, but today there's an air of relief to his admission that the 'decision was pretty much forced upon me'. For England, it may prove a watershed. At least now everyone - him, selectors, captain and fringe bowlers - has a clearer idea of where they stand, and can build for the future rather than constantly hedging their bets against his body.

And in reality, Freddie's no longer the fulcrum of the side. We don't have a talisman right now, so we kid ourselves he's still the powerhouse of old, but there's scant evidence for it. England have already been forced to adapt to life without him, but it's been a clumsy and stunted transition from the pomp of 2004-5. It might remain incomplete with a half-fit Flintoff trading on the past and constantly promising to return.

During that period, he was the kind of player you couldn't help but like - dopey, brilliant, committed and entertaining - and we wanted to slap his face on banknotes and his body in Madam Tussauds and talk about his spirit being 'what made Britain great' and all sorts of nonsense. On reflection, he achieved the presence of a true great, but not the consistency. He really did make things happen at crucial points, but his figures (averages of 31.69 with the bat and 32.51 with the ball) betray the fact that our memory is coloured by one magical summer. He more than anyone else delivered that series, including that ridiculous over at Edgbaston, and for all that we owe him big. There's no-one in the England team remotely like him, and he'll be missed.