Flintoff adds to dissenting voices over Cork release

Sep 6 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

ANDREW FLINTOFF has become the latest Lancashire player to criticise his county for their decision to release Dominic Cork at the end of the season.

His comments will fuel the controversy further as they come hard on the heels of Lancashire skipper Stuart Law’s own protest about the release of Cork.

And it means that two of the best and most experienced players at the club have come out against the cricket committee’s decision.

The England all-rounder also revealed that Cork would be one of the first names on his own team sheet, adding that he still consults the 37-year-old seamer whose bowling knowledge he regards as “invaluable”.

“I’ve enjoyed playing with Dominic over the years and I wish I was playing with him again next year,” said Flintoff. “I think they should have kept him on.

“If you look at that side, players like Dominic are among the leaders. It’s not just the way he bowls, but it’s his presence on the field as well and I’m sure that there will be a lot of counties chasing him.

“The best thing that could happen is for someone to turn around and tell him we’ve made a mistake and keep him on at Lancashire, but I’m not sure that is going to happen.”

Flintoff’s doubts about the possibility of a change of mind at Old Trafford are probably correct.

But he added: “Dominic is a great influence on the dressing room and I’m sure his presence will be sadly missed,” said Flintoff. “Experience like his doesn’t grow on trees and Lancashire will find it hard to replace.”

The views of the 30-year-old, who is fast reasserting his position as one of the undisputed stars of world cricket, emphasise the esteem in which Cork is held by at least some of the senior players at Old Trafford, and they echo Law’s tribute to the departing player.

“When the game is going nowhere, you can just walk up to Corky and say ‘mate I need six overs, you just try and hit them on the head, get under their skin, do whatever you can,” said the Lancashire captain just after the announcement was made. “At the moment I don’t see anyone else who can do that.”

Neither, perhaps, does Flintoff, who said: “I’m all in favour of bringing on young players but they have got to perform.”

The furore over Cork’s release was renewed on a day when heavy rain ruled out any possibility of play between Lancashire and Durham at the Riverside, and in a week in which the seamer had spoken of his attempts to help Lancashire’s young bowlers.

“I have enjoyed working with the likes of (Sajid) Mahmood, (Oliver) Newby and even Jimmy Anderson when there was a period that he struggled to get back into the England side.” Cork said.

“Hopefully they have all appreciated it, and they have got something from it. As a person who has spent a lot of time playing first-class cricket, you have a little bit of knowledge about bowling. I came to this club to help people, and hopefully I will leave players that I have helped in a better state.”

Cork, who has also declared his intention to come back and “haunt” Lancashire in the future, said that his own search for a new county was going “very well”.

“I still want to play cricket, I still feel I’ve got two years left,” he said. “I’ve still got the energy to perform and hopefully wherever I go, I’ll still enjoy it and go to a successful county.”