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London: Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff announcing his Test exit during the Ashes could create an unwanted 'circus' for the home side in the rest of the series.
Flintoff, whose career has been blighted by injury, chose the eve of the second Test at Lord's to announce he would quit the five-day game at the end of the Ashes, which conclude in August across London at the Oval.
Ponting, speaking at Lord's after Flintoff had confirmed his Test retirement, told reporters: "I think we were all a little bit surprised with it to tell you the truth.
"If he ends up playing the remainder of the series I'm sure there'll be some outside distractions for the England team to deal with no matter if Andrew wanted it that way or not.
"I've been in teams where it's happened in Australia as well and it can be distracting, not just for the person involved but for the captain as well."
Ponting said the situation England found themselves in now was similar to the one confronting Australia when Steve Waugh, his predecessor as captain, made it clear the 2003/04 series at home to India would be his last in Tests.
"They were probably similar sort of figures in either side and either country. Everyone in Australia loved everything about Steve Waugh, the way he played, the way he led the side.
"We talked long and hard before the first Test of that series and making sure it didn't turn out to be a farewell tour for Steve.
"But as hard as we tried and as hard as he tried not to make it that way, sure enough it became very much heavily focused on everything he did."
He added: "We can't say yet if this will turn into a farewell tour but knowing the stature he (Flintoff) has in the game in England I can see it turning out like that.
"The fans here are very passionate about seeing Andrew Flintoff play so if they know it's the last chance to see him play here and last chance to play at Edgbaston and Headingley then there could be a circus around the ground."
Ponting, asked to assess Flintoff's worth as a player, said: "If you look at his bare statistics, they probably don't rate that flatteringly.
"But as far as someone that has an impact on the way a team plays and performs then he seems to be right up there.
"He just seems to be a guy that everyone would enjoy playing with. He's played the game in great spirit, everything he does, he's always got a smile on his face."
Last week's drawn first Ashes Test in Cardiff was Flintoff's first England appearance of the season following a knee injury. "You couldn't fault the effort he put in last week," Ponting said. "You wouldn't know he was injured."
Asked if Flintoff's decision to quit Tests was a sign that the fast-bowling all-rounder was an endangered species at the highest level given the volume of international cricket, Ponting said South Africa's Jacques Kallis was the exception that proved the rule.
"Jacques Kallis has done it pretty well, he's probably the only one that has got through. There's no doubt we are playing a lot at the moment.
"Andrew has been a superstar player for England. When they're in the middle of those glory years you have to manage them as well as you'd like and get a couple more years out of their career rather than grinding them into the ground too soon."
