All-rounder Andrew Flintoff has proclaimed about his own retirement

                   

England All-rounder Andrew Flintoff has declared about his own retirement from all kinds of cricket after giving in to his long-standing knee hurt.

Andrew Flintoff retired from Test cricket after last year's Ashes victory and tolerated knee surgery straight away. He expected to get back to action from this season, but that was ruled out last month and he then expected for Twenty20 stints in Australia and the IPL [Indian premier league]. Anyway, his recent meeting with the surgeon has led to what has long appeared the unavoidable decision.

"It is with both frustration and unhappiness that I am today declaring my own retirement from all kinds of cricket," told Flintoff. "The decision to finish my career came yesterday after discussion with medical advisers. I was said that the troubles I have been trying to conquer in re-hab for the last year following the latest in a series of operations would not get well satisfactorily to allow a comeback.

"Having been said that my body would no longer stand up to the strictness of cricket, I had no substitute but to retire," he added. "I would like to thank my family, Lancashire Cricket Club, England, all my sponsors, friends and advisers for all the help and support they have given me throughout my career.