Atherton says Flintoff bowled with unprecedented hostility

LONDON - Former England captain Michael Atherton has praised Andrew Flintoff for his superb bowling spell of five for 92 on the fifth and final day of the Lord’s Test, but warned that England still have a long way to go in the Ashes series.

“Obviously, the big story of the day is Andrew Flintoff’s first-ever five-wicket haul at Lord’s. He bowled superbly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an English bowler with as much fire and hostility as he had this morning,” The Times quoted Atherton, as saying.

He also said that Flintoff seems to have made up his mid to quit Test cricket despite his performance.

When asked about his conversation with Australian captain Ricky Ponting, Atherton said that he was very gracious in defeat.

“I did give him the opportunity to have a bit of a whinge, about the umpiring or whatever, but he refused. Instead, he was honest and admitted his side were outplayed. The crowd in turn were equally gracious and acknowledged his honesty with a round of applause,” he said.

He said that Australia have serious problems with their bowling.

“I think their attack simply isn’t as good as England’s. When you’ve got two relatively evenly matched sides, it’s the one with the best attack that will win the matches,” Atherton said.

England on the other hand would go into the third Test with a huge boost of confidence.

“But they’ll remember that there’s a long way to go. They’ll also remember that Australia went one-nil up in the series in 2005 - taking an early lead doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win the Ashes,” he said. (ANI)