Former England captain Andrew Flintoff has defended bowler Stuart Broad over the 'walking' controversy in the summer Ashes series, saying that Broad does not deserve to be the 'villain' of the piece in Australia.
Broad found himself under fire after refusing to walk, standard practice in Australia cricket, despite getting a thick edge caught by slip in the first Test between England and Australia at Trent Bridge in July, with Australian coach Darren Lehmann calling on fans to 'get stuck into him' and 'make him cry' in the winter Ashes.
According to Sport24, Flintoff, who won the Ashes twice for England, said that he had no doubts about Broad's conduct, whom he backed to star in the winter Ashes, and also urged others to have no doubts about the player's conduct either.
Stating that such things are a part and parcel in county and professional cricket, Flintoff also said he cannot believe the amount of fuss made by current and former players and others over the incident, adding that Broad is a 'decent' cricketer as he does not get carried away with slanging matches with the press and the opposition.
Broad featured throughout England's 3-0 series win on home soil, taking a match-winning six for 50 in the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street, and Flintoff advised him to shut up his critics by taking wickets in Australia.