THE marketing worth of Andrew Flintoff, who once again excelled on the field in a Test match, has soared this summer. An inquiry yesterday to ISM, the agency that also looks after Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Stephen Harmison and Geraint Jones, elicited the response that “he would not get out of bed” for less than a six-figure sum.

Omar Khan, of Cockspur Rum, which sponsors the national club competition in Britain, asked whether the England all-rounder would be available for some promotional work and soon realised his firm would not be able to afford him. “We were interested in employing him for about a day and a half and were told this would cost at least £100,000,” he said.

Neil Fairbrother, the former Lancashire and England batsman who works for ISM and who is credited with advising Flintoff soundly over the years, was at the Oval yesterday and said there had been a great deal of interest in acquiring his services over the last week. He would not give the names of those companies.

Flintoff is thought to earn around £1 million a year from all sources, more than the England captain or any other English player. He puts his name to Woodworm, the bat and kit manufacturer. His autobiography, Being Freddie, will be published in October, even though he is only 27. He also writes a column for The Sun and promotes Red Bull, the energy drink. Through his exploits on the field and the focus on cricket this summer, as well as his genial nature, he has become the face of English cricket.

Chubby Chandler, Flintoff’s business representative, calls him “free-spending and generous”, although not, it can only be hoped, to the extent that one day he will have to revert to working on the record counter at Woolworths, a job he had as a youth.