Andrew Flintoff the batsman

Andrew Flintoff hit 89 today. It was a lone hand as England's other batsmen perished like sticklebacks in outer space. Sticklebacks hate space.

This is Flintoff's first Ashes Down Under, so maybe we should cut him some slack. Just how many times has he actually batted on Australian pitches?

They say that it takes a while to get used to the extra bounce and all batting conditions require different approaches. Maybe Andrew Flintoff, England's captain, is finding his way during an Ashes series.

You'd rather hope that he wouldn't have to learn on the job, but those blink and you miss 'em warm ups won't have done the trick.