Injury forces Flintoff to quit cricket

(CNN) -- Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket at the age of 32, because of a long-standing knee injury.

Flintoff quit Test cricket in 2009 after helping his country regain the Ashes against rivals Australia, but was hoping to continue playing in the one-day format of the game.

However, he has finally been forced to accept his playing days are over following medical advice on his right knee.

Flintoff issued a statement on Thursday, saying: "It is with both disappointment and sadness that I am announcing my retirement from all forms of cricket.

"The decision to end my career came after consultation with medical advisers. I was told that the problems I have been trying to overcome in re-hab for the last year, following the latest in a series of operations, would not recover sufficiently to allow a comeback.

"Having been told that my body would no longer stand up to the rigors of cricket, I had no alternative but to retire."

Flintoff played 79 Test matches for England, after making his debut against South Africa in 1998, but his career was blighted by injuries to his knees and ankles.

He took 226 wickets at 32.78 runs per wicket and scored 3,845 runs at 31.77, with five hundreds, including a career-best of 167 against the West Indies in 2004.

The highlight undoubtedly came in 2005 when a Flintoff-inspired England won the Ashes back from Australia, the first time they had beaten their rivals in 18 years.

The Lancashire player scored 402 runs and took 24 wickets in that series, invoking memories of another Ian Botham's heroics against Australia in 1981.