Flintoff: England still my number one

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Flintoff's decision to decline an incremental ECB contract worth around £25,000 in favour of life as a freelance player taking in limited-overs contracts across the cricketing world has attraced some criticism but he insists that decision will not affect his availability for his country.

After hobbling into a London hotel on crutches, four weeks after undergoing an operation on the damaged knee which forced him to quit five-day cricket, he said: ``I'm available for every England game. Twenty20s and one-day internationals, just not Test matches."

He added: ``England come first, closely followed by Lancashire.

``I'd choose England over everything. If it clashed with the IPL (Indian Premier League) I'd play for England. England is what I've wanted to do since I was a kid.

``I don't know how long left I've got doing it, so I want to play every game I can do.''

An e-mail clarifying Flintoff's situation has been sent to ECB managing director Hugh Morris.

Flintoff remains contracted to Lancashire for another 12 months and has a contract with Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League next year.

Reflecting on his decision to go without an incremental deal, he said: ``One of the reasons is that I'm 31 and I know my body and when I can and can't play.

``I still have some personal ambition. If the opportunity arose to play in Australia I'd love to do that. I wanted to go when I was younger. I've seen a lot of cricketers come to the end of their careers. It creeps up on them and they have nothing to do. I want to forge another career as well."