More stars may follow Andrew Flintoff by quitting Tests

The wealth now available in Twenty20 cricket - coupled with the intensity of the Test-match schedule - could see many other top names follow Flintoff by bidding an early farewell to the oldest form of the sport.

Flintoff will leave the Test stage at the conclusion of this Ashes series but the Lancastrian has declared his intention to become the best limited-overs player in the world and to play in two more 50-over World Cups for England.

If he achieves this objective, Flintoff's career will extend until 2015, when he will be 37. A desire to make his mark in the lucrative Indian Premier League - where the all-rounder suffered his latest knee injury while playing for Chennai Super Kings - is also central to his ambitions.

In some ways, Flintoff is an exceptional case because of the number of injuries he has suffered since inspiring England to the Ashes four years ago.

That summer represented the peak of his career but Flintoff has had six injuries and played only 23 of England's 48 Tests since then.

Flintoff's most potent weapon, fast bowling is hugely demanding on the body, placing considerable strain on ankles, knees and hips and has certainly taken its toll on Flintoff's body.

"You look at the Test schedule in front of us and I wouldn't get through that," he said. "I enjoy the short form of the game and I can now focus all my attention and energy on becoming the best in the world at that.

"There are a lot of competitions around the world. We are fortunate to play cricket, although you may see players' careers getting shorter. We have a busy schedule ahead of us and it will be taxing on a lot of bowlers."

If the top pacemen realise they can earn up to £1million for six weeks' work in the IPL, it would be no surprise to see Brett Lee, Dale Steyn and Fidel Edwards opt out of Test cricket to boost their bank balances.

Indeed, VB Chandrasekhar, head of cricket operations at Chennai, now expects to benefit from Flintoff being able to play a full part for the franchise during the 2010 IPL.

"It is always nice to have such a top cricketer to be available full time," said Chandrasekhar. "I can understand why he has made this tough decision.

"New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram talked about how exacting it is to play Test cricket with a fragile body. I see more cricketers taking this option when retirement is near and the pressures tell on the body. They might retire from one format of the game."

Earlier this week, the MCC Cricket Committee met to discuss methods to revive Test cricket and halt falling interest and attendances.

Decisions like Flintoff's, however, will only deal another blow to such hopes. The great all-rounders of the past, such as Imran Khan, who was 39 when he played his final Test for Pakistan, would never have considered quitting the five-day game prematurely.

New Zealander Sir Richard Hadlee, another of the game's champions with bat and ball, also called it a day a year shy of his 40th birthday.

Whatever the gimmicks brought in to give Test cricket a new lease of life -pink balls and day/night matches are the latest items on the agenda - it is still hard to imagine the best all-rounders playing in all forms of the game for so long.

And with more and more get-rich- quick Twenty20 tournaments appearing, fast bowlers and all-rounders are unlikely to be the only players to shun Tests - as West Indies batsman Chris Gayle showed earlier this year when he expressed his desire to focus on limited-overs cricket in the near future.

But England captain Andrew Strauss remains a traditionalist and remains hopeful the Test game can survive the Twenty20 threat.

"I still think players will continue to play Test cricket if they possibly can," said Strauss. "Most cricketers still feel it is the ultimate form of the game.

"But we do play a lot of cricket and it is a massive ask for bowlers to play every game inside a year. We will see injuries and that's why you need a strong squad at Test level."