Andrew Flintoff is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders England has ever produced and is often put on the same pedestal as Sir Ian Botham for his abilities to win matches single-handedly.
Flintoff had made his English county debut in 1995 for Lancashire, which was led by Pakistani great Wasim Akram. Flintoff in interaction with Lancashire cricket club recalled his debut which included Akram shouting at him.
"Can’t forget Ricky Ponting sledging Me in Ashes 2005", Andrew Flintoff recalls Edgbaston incident
Flintoff was regarded highly during his youth days as well, but his debut didn’t go so well, as he dropped three catches in slips next to Wasim Akram, who got mad at the then 17-year-old all-rounder.
"Bumble (David Lloyd) said I was the best slip catcher he has ever seen. So I got put in the slips in the first game. 2nd slip was Wasim Akram. I dropped 3 catches before lunch and Akram shouted 'get him out of there'. I got three marks on my body because of the ball hitting me. I was 17 years old and one of the world's greatest cricketer shouting get him out of there," Flintoff said.
"It’s called Tough love and we raised you well," Wasim Akram was quick to respond to Flintoff's comments and took credit for "raising him well."
Flintoff played in 79 Tests and 141 ODIs for England. He scored 3845 Test runs besides picking up 226 wickets. In the ODIs, the right-handed batsman scored 3394 runs and picked up 169 wickets.