Flintoff vs Johnson

If you based your opinion on who was the more valuable player solely on the first three Tests of the Ashes you'd need your head checked if you though there was any contest. Flintoff. Freddy Flintoff. The English talisman. The man who provides the heart to the English team. The man capable of tearing apart your team, carrying on like a pork chop and still being completely likeable.

Then there's Johnson. Poor, downtrodden, out of form Mitchell Johnson. Capable of bowling pie after pie, scowling like a guilty school boy but somehow still able to make you pray for his return to form.

Statistics might show otherwise...

The test performances of the two players, up to and including the 3rd Ashes Test were:

Flintoff has played considerably more Test Cricket, three times more Test Matches in fact. Otherwise there is very little separating the two players. Johnson has a marginally better batting average but Flintoff has amassed 26 half-centuries. Johnson has a better bowling average and strike rate but Flintoff has the wickets on the board with an impressive 225 in his career. Should Johnson continue to take wickets at his career rate he would be close to 300 wickets at the same stage in his career as Flintoff. However, factors such as durability, consistency and form can dramatically change careers.

Until the recent home and away Test Series against South Africa, Johnson was a promising player who might be the answer to Australia's aging bowling stocks. After the series he was considered a world-class all-rounder largely responsible for a rousing series win by the Australians. Two Tests into the Ashes series and the always insightful media was calling for him to be dropped. Not even Jessica Bratich can keep him smiling on the field.

Will Johnson go on to be a world-class all-rounder for years to come? Is he a one-summer wonder?

Let me know your thoughts.

Here's a listing of the great all-rounders and their career statistics: