"Test match bowling puts so much pressure on his body that this seemed the logical thing to do," he said.
"It’s sad that he’s made this decision at this age but maybe it will make him more motivated for the next four Tests.
He wants to go out with a bang," he said.
"We spoke to the medical staff and we would never play a guy in a Test if we didn’t have a huge amount of confidence that he could get through," he said.
"He feels better the news is out there and with the injury surrounding this game he felt it was the right time."
"It is a big loss for English cricket, because he has a presence about him. He’s not been the biggest influence on all the Test matches he’s played. But he does have a presence, and that brings others along with him," Former captain Graham Gooch said.
"He has the ability to be able to get big players out.
Certainly that was shown at the height of his career when
"It’s curious timing because obviously if Flintoff didn’t play in this game (the second Ashes Test) and England did well and won, what do they do? Do they go back to Flintoff with the end of the series approaching when he’s not going to be playing beyond that? It’s not yet certain he’ll get a grand finale or farewell," said Another former skipper, Michael Atherton,.
"He has been a very good Test match cricketer, not a great one but a very good one who had a great series in 2005.
His career’s not over because he’ll want to play some more one-day international cricket. I suspect he’ll feel absolutely fulfilled," he said.
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