CRICKET/Triangular One-day Series: He is growing a marauder's beard, and there were even a few glimpses of the up-and-at-'em strokeplay of old. But the greatest facet of Andrew Flintoff's match-winning innings against New Zealand at the Bellerive Oval, an unbeaten 72 from 75 balls, was his composure as adversity closed in on him once more.
England had arrived in Australia many weeks ago as proud holders of the Ashes, and since then there had been a bonfire of the vanities, a veritable conflagration, with Flintoff, as a beleaguered stand-in captain, one of those most badly singed.
An edgy, three-wicket win against New Zealand yesterday, with one ball to spare, was their first since they beat West Indies in the Champions Trophy in Ahmedabad in October. It was a taut encounter between two sides struggling for form, not a huge amount of fun for the neutrals, who slumbered contentedly by the stunning Derwent River in temperatures of 33 degrees, and that Flintoff saw things through was testimony to his strength of character.
He padded out to bat knowing that the captaincy debate was about to flare once more because of a hamstring injury that threatened to end Michael Vaughan's leadership after only two matches. If that was not disturbing enough, he is now England's sole power player after the loss through injury of Kevin Pietersen. Had he fallen cheaply, an England win would have been hard to imagine.
Flintoff went in at 98 for four in the 31st over, faced by a required run rate of 5.49 - demanding enough with New Zealand's spinners, Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel, squeezing the life from the innings on a sluggish surface - and aware that victory, any victory, was essential to begin to repair shattered confidence before the Australian tour turned to dust.
A no-ball from Patel was a welcome greeting, as Flintoff heartily biffed it over mid-wicket to get off the mark. Another no-ball call, from the square-leg umpire Steve Davis, was even more of a release when he was on 62, Mark Gillespie's celebrations of a catch at mid-wicket silenced by the signal that his full toss had been above waist high and therefore illegal.
Flintoff dealt more than he usually does in placid singles, and accepted a few blessed mishits into the deep with equanimity, no more so than when, with 39 needed in six overs, he swung Vettori to deep mid-wicket, where Ross Taylor, stationed 10 yards in from the rope, frantically backpedalled to no avail.
England, oddly, were having their first encounter with New Zealand's fast bowler Shane Bond, who had always been injured during their previous meetings. This time he managed eight overs before leaving the field with a stiff back. The English clearly do little for him.
Until Flintoff's arrival England had agonised, no one more so than Andrew Strauss, who laboured 58 balls for his 28, an innings ended with the latest in a sequence of unfortunate dismissals in Australia, umpire Davis adjudging him lbw to James Franklin despite a thick inside edge.
Vaughan, who had damaged a hamstring in the field, aggravated it further when Strauss refused a single. The captain finished a careworn innings with a runner - James Dalrymple - who was also sent back by Strauss and might have ripped a hamstring of his own as he dived to the crease. Vaughan's pull to mid-wicket guarded both against further injury.
But England will almost certainly have to change captain for a second time this month when they face Australia in Brisbane on Friday, and if a scan shows any kind of damage Vaughan could be out for three weeks, a typical period of time for minor hamstring strains.
Ian Bell, dropped by the wicketkeeper, Brendon McCullum, when nine, immediately discovered a deftness of touch with Flintoff standing 22 yards away. When Bell was lbw to Patel, beaten by one that skidded on, Paul Nixon supported Flintoff in a stand of 60 from 64 balls with the menial strut of an old-style shop steward.
It should have been a breeze with eight needed from 17 balls, but Dalrymple was athletically caught at backward point by Patel, who had earlier skilfully run out Ed Joyce when the Irishman had scored just five, and Jon Lewis's desperate swishes caused brief consternation before Flintoff sneaked the penultimate ball, from Craig McMillan, back past the bowler for the winning hit.
New Zealand had won a good toss on a pitch used for the second time in three days, only to be pegged back by Jimmy Anderson's best spell of the winter. He swung the ball both ways and has rediscovered the pace that was lost in a misguided attempt to remodel his action.
Vaughan shrewdly gave him full rein in an eight-over new-ball spell in which he drew McCullum into a lofted drive, bowled the static Stephen Fleming off inside edge and pad, and was too quick for Taylor to pull. Figures of four for 42 represented a good day's work. He still looks at his boots when he bowls, but then maybe that is because he is a shy sort of guy.
Scoreboard
New Zealand Innings
B McCullum c Vaughan b Anderson 16
N Astle b Collingwood 45
S Fleming b Anderson 12
R Taylor c Vaughan b Anderson 1
P Fulton c Vaughan b Flintoff 27
C McMillan c & b Collingwood 22
D Vettori lbw b Panesar 11
J Franklin c Collingwood b Flintoff 20
S Bond not out 22
M Gillespie b Anderson 10
Extras (lb9 w10) 19
Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) ... 205
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-61, 3-67, 4-97, 5-127, 6-144, 7-146, 8-185, 9-205.
Did Not Bat: J Patel.
Bowling: Lewis 9-0-51-0; Anderson 10-0-42-4; Flintoff 10-1-37-2; Panesar 10-0-36-1; Collingwood 10-1-25-2; Dalrymple 1-0-5-0.
England Innings
A Strauss lbw b Franklin 28
M Vaughan c Taylor b Franklin 17
I Bell lbw b Patel 45
E Joyce run out 5
P Collingwood c Taylor b Patel 10
A Flintoff not out 72
P Nixon run out 15
J Dalrymple c Patel b Gillespie 1
J Lewis not out 2
Extras (b1 w2 nb8) 11
Total (7 wkts, 49.5 overs) ... 206
Fall of wickets: 1-39, 2-62, 3-79, 4-98, 5-138, 6-198, 7-201.
Did Not Bat: J Anderson, M Panesar.
Bowling: Franklin 9-1-34-2; Bond 8-0-29-0; Gillespie 6-0-40-1; Astle 2-0-4-0; Patel 10-1-34-2 Vettori 10-0-42-0; McMillan 4.5-0-22-0.
England beat New Zealand by 3 wkts
