Who now makes a decsion on Flintoff's availability for selection?
If we pump him with pain killers and send him out next week he might not be fit enough for the IPL payday. Presumably he doesn't get paid if he doesn't play? Can the ECB order him - as a centrally contracted player - not to play in the IPL in order to rest and recuperate in time for the Ashes? Which is more important to Fred - his mega payday or the chance of cricketing immortality by regaining the Ashes (again).
Who now runs cricket - the ECB or the huge rewards on offer in India. You can't expect cricketers to be equally loyal to two paymasters...

So what happened to the chickens?

The crows ate them.

Hopefully this wont be a problem .... Flintfoff's chief 'advisor' is Neil Fairbrother who's not afraid to tell Freddie the truth. Mr Flintoff's sudden 'leap forward' a few years ago was after Harvey had given hin a rollocking. From what I know of Fairbrother he'll be telling Freddie that its better to prolong his career by resting rather than going for the short term big bucks

I would not be so sure - its like the unofficial England tours to SA tours when they were still in the wilderness - several players did not go as they either had principles, pride in playing for England or were still young enough to have a chance to make money from playing for England.

Whatever Flintoff says, he is a bowler who can bat rather than being a batsmen who can bowl and this will limit his test playing career by a few years - the parallels with Botham are quite close.

How many more years injury free or injury prone has he got at the top level left now? I would think 3 at the most and I therefore think his priorities are family and finances in the next few years. How hard and stressful can it be to actually play in the IPL? Bowl 4 overs a game and even then you can ease up if you want to and no one will notice too much

The plot "sickens."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5794764.ece

9,000 emails in support. What a liar! How many days would it take to read through 9,000 emails (At one a minute, it would take him SIX (6) DAYS TO READ THEM ALL ), determine whether they had anything to do with the Stanford fiasco, determine whether they supported him or didn't, etc. What a bloody liar, and the press let him get away with such absurd statements.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/clarke-unrepentant-over-stanford-1631064.html