Flintoff signs one-day Lancs deal

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has signed a three-year contract to play one-day cricket for Lancashire.

The injury-prone 31-year-old retired from Test cricket at the end of the 2009 Ashes series to focus on the limited overs versions of the game.

Flintoff, who made his Lancashire debut in 1995, is currently recovering from surgery on his right knee.

He had voiced an intention to play four-day County Championship matches as well, but that will not happen.

"This contract will give me the flexibility to play other forms of one-day cricket around the world," he said.

Flintoff, who has a lucrative contract to play Twenty20 cricket with Chennai in the Indian Premier League, has spoken of his desire to become the world's best one-day and Twenty20 player.

In September he became the first player to turn down an England contract since they were introduced in 1999, when he rejected a lower tier incremental deal in favour of chasing short-term contracts around the world.

However, he was also keen to play in "every England game except Test matches" once he returns to fitness.

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His knee injury has already ruled him out of November's one-day series with South Africa and he is thought unlikely to be fit for England's three one-day internationals against Bangladesh in February 2010 before Andrew Strauss's men fly to the Caribbean for the World Twenty20 in May.

He is excited by the new deal, which replaces a previous contract that had him tied to the club until the end of the 2010 season only.

"I have felt part of Lancashire ever since I first played here as a schoolboy and I want to help them achieve success," he said.

"I have enjoyed many highs with England over the years, but I have not had the same success with Lancashire and that is something I want to address."

The Red Rose county's cricket director Mike Watkinson added: "Fred is Lancashire through-and-through and he is a great inspiration to our young players.

"It is a huge boost for the club that he will be wearing our shirt on a regular basis in 2010 and beyond."

A catalogue of chronic injuries prompted Flintoff to announce his retirement from Tests last summer, and he played his last five-day match in the Ashes-winning victory against Australia at The Oval in August.

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