Andrew Flintoff returns to action for England in the first one-dayer against India insisting he can still enjoy a long career as an all-rounder. The Lancastrian underwent surgery for the third time on his troublesome ankle in June, prompting fears he may have to remodify his action or give up bowling. But he told BBC Sport: "My ankle is great. Everything I've asked it to do, it's stood up to with no ill effects. "I'm fully fit and want to play at 100% with bat and ball for many years yet."
And the 29-year-old is adamant he will not be changing his bowling action in a bid to avoid further injury problems, though he admits he will have to monitor the ankle closely for the rest of his career. "I think I'm going to be on this rehabilitation programme for the rest of my career if I'm honest, so that my ankle can stand up to the full rigours of bowling" he said.
"I could have not had the surgery and operated at 70-75% with the ball, but that's not what I or the team want so that's why I had the op. "As for my action, it's great to be working with someone like Allan Donald - one of the greatest bowlers of all time - but I've got to a point where I'm happy with my action. "Three years ago it was a lot more closed than it is now but now I'm happy with it and that won't change." England face India in a seven-match one-day series in the coming weeks and Flintoff says he never considered making himself available at international level solely as a batsman.
"I honestly never thought about being just a batsman for England - I'm not sure I could justify it anyway. "I want to bat, bowl, field and be involved in matches all the time so that's not an option. "And I'm raring to go against India. I have total confidence in the ankle and I'm keen, just as all the lads are, to impress (coach) Peter Moores and help England do well."
Source: BBC Sport
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