My retirement won’t be a distraction in Ashes decider: Flintoff

London, Aug 18 (IANS) England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff says his retirement from Test cricket will not be a distraction for the team in the last Ashes Test at the Brit Oval.

FLintoff expects to be fit for the fifth Test against Australia that starts Thursday as he continues to battle with the knee injury that forced him to call time on his Test career.

The 31-year-old said that the match was bigger than any player.

“The occasion – 1-1 in an Ashes series, having a chance to win the Ashes at the Oval – is huge,” Flintoff was quoted as saying in the Times. “It’s my last Test, but I’m not too fussed about that. It’s more the chance to win the Ashes again.

“I’m not the first person to announce Test retirement during a series and I won’t be the last, but the occasion is bigger than that.”

Flintoff, who missed the defeat at Headingley Carnegie, is confident he will be fit to play in two days’ time.

“I’ve been working with Dave Roberts (the England and Lancashire physio), had some batting over the weekend, and today a bowl. I’m confident I’ll come through. I’m probably in a better state than I was going into the last Test [at Edgbaston]. I think I’m more or less there, I just have to prove it.”