The People's Player

Andrew Flintoff will play again, once he has gone through the familiar, painful misery called re-hab.

That is the good news immediately after England won the Ashes - and stayed (almost) sober - and he went into hospital to have the operation that may cure his knee troubles.

He could be excused if he adopted a cynical we-have-been-there-before-and-it's-not-worked attitude but as usual this ever-cheerful lad has looked on the bright side and never doubted, so it seems, the words of the experts.

Flintoff could be forgiven too if he were mighty annoyed at the words of a small group who seem determined to prove he is far from a giant, unfit to be mentioned in the same breath as Ian Botham and other great all-rounders and soon to be over-shadowed by the tall figure of Stuart Broad.

This group appears to grow by the day. It centres on Michael Atherton who has looked increasingly sour in the days leading up to the end of the Oval game. He was grinning when he said to Jonathon Trott "You realise that some people played in five Ashes series and never experienced this moment" but his angst was plain.

Atherton has also seemed to find a special pleasure in denigrating Flintoff. I wish he had not. It does him no credit.

There were those too, you will remember, who could not wait to plunge the knife into Diana, Princess of Wales when she died.

They ignored her humanity, her daring in breaking down convention and her refusal to toe the Royal line and accused her instead of being unreliable, neurotic and publicity-seeking.

Flintoff - remember the arm round Brett Lee - had the affection, the love even, of the man, women and particularly kids who has paid at the gate because he gave value for money, always tried hard and was, like them, prone to gaffes he regreted later.

So I will take my line from Tony Blair who called Diana The People's Princess and name Flintoff, the People's Player. He deserves that accolade; his critics never came near to achieving that sort of fame.