Flintoff wins fight to be fit for third Test

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has proved his fitness for the third Ashes Test in the nets at Edgbaston, and revealed that he has been sleeping with a special device on his knee to stop it swelling.

He has been using a 'Game Ready' compression wrap - designed from NASA spacesuit technology - on his knee at night. It applies ice and pressure at intervals while he sleeps, removing fluid and reducing inflammation.

Flintoff is confident of playing in the fourth Test, which starts soon after the third. Aussie paceman Brett Lee may also make a comeback in the fourth match of the Ashes rubber, but will not be ready in time for tomorrow's Test.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
 
Richard Hobson, the Times: "Andrew Flintoff has had two more injections and been sleeping with an ice-pack compressed around his right knee in the latest attempts to ensure his participation in the Ashes. All the evidence suggests that the medical treatment is working and that the all-rounder will be ready to build on his man-of-the-match performance at Lord’s by taking on Australia again at Edgbaston in the third npower Test tomorrow. An England team spokesman said that Flintoff was given a jab last Friday to lubricate his troublesome knee and received another dose of cortisone in the same area two days ago."

Derek Pringle, Daily Telegraph: "Being hewn from Millstone Grit, big Freddie has more or less vowed to see the series out, though whether he can sustain the intensity of his performance at Lord's is something that will keep Australia's batsmen and the rest of us on tenterhooks. Picking someone with an ongoing problem is always a gamble. Not only will Andrew Strauss not be able to replace him with a 12th man, should he leave the field, there is the risk that the adrenalin, or at least the situation that created it and which clearly helped to kill the pain on that last day at Lord's, will remain stubbornly absent."

John Etheridge, the Sun: "Andrew Flintoff is using an ice machine while sleeping in a dramatic bid to ensure he is fit for tomorrow's Ashes showdown. The England all-rounder revealed he gets hooked up at night to a device which ices and compresses his injured right knee. It is made by America company Game Ready and was added to the ECB's medical equipment last year by England physio Kirk Russell." ·