Andrew Flintoff has revealed how being overlooked for the upcoming Lord's Bicentenary match between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the Rest of the World spurred him on to make a Twenty20 comeback with Lancashire.
The Red Rose county confirmed Friday that Flintoff, one of their favourite sons, had been included in the squad for the county's domestic Twenty20 campaign.
Former England captain Flintoff, in injury-induced retirement for five years, wasn't selected to play in the team that faced Warwickshire on Friday but is in line to return at home to Lancashire's arch-rivals Yorkshire at Old Trafford a week on Friday.
Before announcing his comeback, the 36-year-old said he'd hoped to have been chosen for the star-studded match marking the 200th anniversary of Lord's in July.
But pace bowling all-rounder Flintoff said the effect on his children of being told he wasn't wanted for the fixture had fuelled his desire to return to the middle.
"John Stephenson from the MCC phoned me up and I thought the call was to tell me where to turn up and who was in the side," Flintoff told BBC Radio Five in an interview broadcast Friday.
"The kids were in the car and he told me they didn't want me. He said they've got Brian Lara and all these other people.
"I saw my kids' faces and that's the first time they'd seen their dad told he can't do something. They said: 'Never mind, there will be other games'. And I thought: 'There will be actually.'"
Concerns have been expressed that, after such a long time out of the game, Flintoff risks tarnishing his reputation by not being able to perform at his best.
However, he said: "I'd sooner try and have it not come off than sit at home for the rest of my days thinking I should have tried this, I should have had a go."
"I feel young, I behave like I'm young," Flintoff added. "It's the easiest decision I've made in my career.
"Lancs think I can do it, I think I can do it. I can't guarantee performance but I'm going to have a go at this. I've got to prove myself.
