Flintoff scored 3,845 runs and took 226 wickets in 79 Tests for England

Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been cleared to play club cricket for Northern League side St Annes as part of his recovery from knee surgery.

The 32-year-old, who retired from England's Test side in 2009, played for the Fylde coast team as a teenager.

"He asked if he could play for St Annes," Lancashire cricket director Mike Watkinson told the Manchester Evening News.

"He is available to play if it fits in with his rehabilitation programme."

Flintoff's eligibility to turn out for St Annes, the club he first played for as a 12-year-old, was confirmed at a league meeting on Monday.

He underwent two operations after bowing out of five-day Test cricket at the end of the 2009 Ashes series, which England won 2-1.

The veteran of 79 Tests and 141 one-day internationals has stated his desire to return to England duty in the shorter forms of the game.

He is hoping to play Championship cricket for Lancashire before the end of this season.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Flintoff being cleared to play for St Annes

"Fred has seen his consultant and is about six weeks away from full-on bowling," added Watkinson.

Without Flintoff, England won the ICC World Twenty20 in May and beat Australia 3-2 in their recent one-day series.

And, with the World Cup starting in the subcontinent on 19 February 2011, he faces a race to be fit for consideration for September's five-match one-day series against Pakistan.

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