Fletcher admits Freddie's in a funk

Profiles / Editor / 15 April 2007 / Leave a Comment

Duncan Fletcher has admitted that England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is suffering from a loss of confidence.

The big Lancastrian has fared well with the ball in the West Indies but has failed to hit the heights with the bat as struggling England have spluttered their way to the brink of the World Cup semi-finals.

Flintoff's only knock worthy of note was his 43 against minnows Ireland and Fletcher concedes his talisman is a long way from top gear.

"He's lost a bit of confidence and that sometimes happens with all-rounders," the England coach told Sky Sports News.

"You can go in and bowl well and your batting seems to drop off. We've just got to be careful that he doesn't work too much on his batting, hopefully they cross over and he puts in a performance as a batter and a bowler.

"But he has lost a bit of confidence with his batting and is not as effective as we'd like."

Flintoff, despite his failures with the bat, has claimed 11 scalps with the ball in the tournament and remains the 1.23 Betfair market favourite to finish the World Cup as the Top England wicket taker.

Liam Plunkett is next in the market at 4.3, but with only three victims so far, does not look best-placed to challenge Flintoff.

Jimmy Anderson (eight wickets) and Monty Panesar (seven) both stand at 5.3 with Sajid Mahmood (eight wickets) available at 6.8.