Flintoff's decision to freelance indicates changing player priorities.
The most talked about person in cricket right now is Andrew “Chubby” Chandler, not a player, or administrator, but an agent. How on earth? you would wonder. But then, he is not just any agent; he is Andrew Flintoff’s agent, and instrumental in creating the world’s first freelance cricketer.
Cricket has changed immeasurably in the decades since one-day internationals started to rake in money, but a lot more in the two years since the Indian Premier League was born. The league proved that a cricket tournament could be profitable — very, very profitable — without invoking the concept of the nation or state.
Perhaps as a logical next step, Flintoff has rejected the offer of an England contract and committed himself to a future as a freelance, travelling worldwide in search of riches in the Twenty20 game. Having retired from Tests, he insists that he wants to play ODIs for England as far ahead as the 2013 World Cup, but would like to choose when and where to play. “At this stage of my career I don’t think I need to be told when to play and when to rest,” said Flintoff in an official statement explaining his decision.
Flintoff, who is undergoing long-term rehab (funded by the England cricket board) in Dubai after his sixth major operation, was offered a contract that would give him a £30,000 top-up to all his other payments, including match fees, to play ODIs for England. Not too long ago, players cherished such central contracts; it gave them job security — an elusive thing in sport. But Flintoff, whose services were won by IPL franchise (‘team’ is so passé) Chennai Super Kings for $1.55 million, would rather play the entire season for IPL and spend the rest of the year with Nashua Titans, South Australia, and an as yet unnamed West Indies team.
Flintoff’s decision has to be seen in the context of rapidly changing player priorities everywhere. Chris Gayle, not too long ago the captain of West Indies, has said he wouldn’t be too sad if Test cricket was to die, as he would be happy to make a living playing Twenty20. Soon after, the entire West Indies team got into a payment dispute with the board and refused to play. In what is known as the McCullum judgement — as it was triggered by the New Zealand wicketkeeper’s desire to skip his country’s itinerary to play all season for IPL — players are being forced to obtain a no-objection certificate from their boards to be able to play the tournament.
Such demands will only grow as players look to secure their future financially, as they are all too aware of the limited time they have to secure it. Can cricketers replicate tennis players, or golfers? The latter two spend their careers in individualistic pursuits, but cricket demands an amalgamation of individual ambition and team demands.
