 I thought I'd play a few shots and see what happened |
Man of the Match Andrew Flintoff admitted to throwing caution to the wind after his face-saving knock saw off Zimbabwe in Bristol.
The cavalier all-rounder's 47 not out steered England to victory after they had stumbled to 25-4 in pursuit of just 93 to win.
"The wicket did a bit and it was tricky to bat on but I thought I'd play a few shots and see what happens," said Flintoff, who also claimed three wickets.
"I managed to get one away through mid-wicket and after that I thought I was away and just started to hit the ball."
Flintoff said captain Michael Vaughan gave him a free rein to play his own game.
"Every now and then he came down and pointed out a couple of fielders on the boundary but he just lets you play as you do," he said.
Flintoff paid tribute to the attack, who restricted Zimbabwe to their lowest ever score against England.
 Gough aside, Vaughan saw room for improvement in his attack |
'We started off well today when Darren Gough bowled fantastically well, and I probably stole the Man-of-the-Match award away from him as it should be his."
Vaughan also sung the praises of his bowlers, but was far from impressed with the concession of 24 extras, including 16 wides.
"I thought we bowled pretty well," he said.
"To take early wickets and put Zimbabwe under pressure was always the key.
"It can be difficult when the ball is swinging, and they're a young attack that is learning all the time.
"They didn't bowl brilliantly but they did well enough. They would take this wicket around with them wherever they can and bowl on it."
Losing skipper Heath Streak was less complimentary about a pitch that witnessed the falling of 14 wickets for 187 runs.
"It was a tough wicket to play on and I don't think it was a good one-day wicket," he said.
NATWEST SERIES TABLE South Africa P4 W3 L1 NR0 BP1 Pts17 RR0.62 England P5 W2 L2 NR1 BP1 Pts16 RR0.75 Zimbabwe P5 W1 L3 NR1 BP0 Pts9 RR-1.35 |
"There was a little bit happening on it, though it was good for us bowlers. I thought England bowled really superbly and credit must go to them.
"We played some loose shots and you can talk about techniques, but it's always tough no matter how good a batsman you are to stay out there."
Zimbabwe hopes of pushing for a NatWest Series final berth evaporated in Bristol, but Streak was impressed with the application shown by his team.
"We just wanted to show a bit of spirit and, credit to the boys, we had England thinking a bit but a great knock from Flintoff turned things around.
"It's been a big learning curve for us and I hope the guys are learning, because we have to do it quickly."
MMIX
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