Creaking knees force Ashes hero Flintoff to call it a day

The all-rounder had a knee operation last August, the day after what proved his final appearance when he helped England regain the Ashes at The Oval.

He had already announced his Test match retirement but remained optimistic for much of the past 12 months that he could battle back to prove himself one of the world's outstanding limited-overs cricketers.

A second operation at the start of this year delayed any comeback date, and it was ominous last month that – on the day he was hoping to make a tentative return for Lancashire 2nd XI – he accepted he would not be playing this summer after all. Another make-or-break meeting with his surgeon this week forced the 32-year-old to accept a 14-year career – which included 79 Tests and 140 one-day internationals – was over.

"It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am today announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket," said Flintoff. "The decision to end my career came after consultation with medical advisers.

"I was told that the problems I have been trying to overcome in rehab for the last year, following the latest in a series of operations, would not recover sufficiently to allow a comeback.

"Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigours of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire.

"I had a scan at the beginning of the week which confirmed what I suspected – that the knee wasn't quite right – and I had a meeting in Glasgow with the surgeon. He just confirmed that the operation I had 12 months ago was fine, but not good enough to play cricket again.

"I'm not quite sure it's sunk in. I think it's going to take a while. The decision's been made for me. It's going to be difficult. It's something I've done professionally for nearly 17 years. Since I was a kid, all I've wanted was to play cricket."

His crowning moments came in 2005, when England regained the Ashes and he revisited those glories last summer with the burst of wickets which helped beat Australia at Lord's.

His Ashes-winning team-mate Graeme Swann said: "It's a shame because any team with 'Fred' in is a better side."