Having Freddie's Cake And Eating It

Nasser Hussain has done it again. The clock was ticking until he spoke out on Freddie's injury following playing in the IPL. And doesn't he say it well?

"Players just cannot have their cake and eat it. They cannot expect to reap the benefits of a lucrative central contract and then only be under the control of the ECB when it suits them."

Honestly. Someone needs to rewire his brain so he'll stop being such an idiot.

Imagine if Jacob Oram was in the English team. He'd never hear the end of it from pompous assholes (although Oram does need to hear something, the guy is just completely off Test cricket).

Giles Clark says it all:

"I think it is absolutely right that it is a decision for the player, what he wants to do. He has a limited period of time as a player."

Everyone knows the IPL is all about the money. Neither Freddie nor KP felt any particular affiliation to their respective teams. Freddie just grinned and charmed his teammates' pants off in order to disguise his poor performances.

I don't care if players do it for the money. If it were me in that situation, I sure as hell wouldn't let $1.55 million dollars run away from me because ex-captains would likely have a hissy fit about it. The English scrutinise and attempt to control their players far too much.

Andrew Strauss is particularly clear about it:

"It's not something you'd hold against a player. It's a tough decision to turn down that sort of money."

Bang on the money, really. Now if only Hussain could shut his trap.

I know there's the case to be made that Freddie should have known he's injury-prone and therefore not subjected himself to the IPL in addition to the multitude of tournaments and series in the next few months, but if we step back for a minute and look at it from a purely self-interested perspective, who can blame him?

"Whoo! I'm Andrew Flintoff. I can do no wrong."