What kind of a blow is this for England?

Well I am not sure it is that much of a blow. They have spent most of the time since 2005 without Flintoff. They haven't won many games with him since that period and his performances since 2005 have been quite modest. So, while it is always a blow to lose a player of quality, I am not so sure it is a massive blow for England.

Having said that it is a sad time when a valued member of the team, a good friend to a lot of these players, realises that it is the end of the road.

Does our image of him as the heartbeat of the England team - which is probably outdated - give this an inflated sense of importance?

Flintoff has been a major cricketer for England, there is no question about that. He was central to the 2005 Ashes triumph and he has been a major figure on the international scene for most of the past decade. He is an important player and when important players retire there is always a sense of occasion about it.

But in fairly hard-headed terms he has not actually played that much in the past four years so England have learned to live without him.

What do you make of the timing of the announcement? How will it affect England's focus on the job at hand?

It could go either way. Much depends on whether he plays at Lord's. I would have thought that this announcement makes it more likely that he will play tomorrow and therefore if he plays and people know it is going to be his last Test match at Lord's, he will get an enormous lift from that. The public will be right behind him and right behind England.

The other side of the coin is that once again before a Test match we are talking about Andrew Flintoff and not the England team, so it could play both ways. It's difficult to say what the outcome will be.

It's curious timing because obviously if Flintoff didn't play in this game and England did well and won, what do they do? Do they go back to Flintoff with the end of the series approaching when he's not going to be playing beyond that? It's not yet certain he'll get a grand finale or farewell.

The timing of it surprised me, but the ultimate decision to retire wasn't a surprise.

What does it say of Flintoff's love of centre stage? Could you see him revelling in the adulation and performing strongly this series? He looks in decent nick.

That's presumably why the decision has been taken now, so Flintoff gets the next four Test matches with a big send-off at each ground. He clearly wants to go out with a grand tour of the country.

It's not entirely certain he'll get that, depending on if he plays here and how England go. Selectors tend to be fairly unemotional in these matters.

How should Flintoff's Test career be summed up? An impact player who made the most of his talent? Truly our best all-rounder since Botham?

He has been a very fine Test match cricketer, not a great one but a very fine cricketer who had a great series in 2005. He'll look back on the 2005 series as the high point of his career, maybe his life, in years to come.

His career's not over because he'll want to play some more one-day international cricket. I suspect he'll feel absolutely fulfilled.

He's unquestionably England's best all-rounder since Ian Botham and he has been a tremendous role model in many ways in his performances and with the spirit in which has played the game.

This is also an interesting story on a broader level. Do you think more players will make the decision to focus on the shortened form of the game? There are lucrative contracts on offer and maybe something has to give in a packed international calendar.

It's a warning sign for the game and I am sure we will see more players choosing to go this route. Test cricket is a hard grind, it's hard on the body and the mind. Twenty20 cricket is much easier on both and while the financial rewards are there, players will be tempted to take that option.

The injury is of course the main reason for Flintoff retiring, but while these financial rewards are on offer, players are more likely to take that option.