Flintoff warns of shorter international careers due to burn-out

London, Oct 5 (UNI) England captain Andrew Flintoff has warned that international careers of players will get shorter if the amount of cricket being played is not checked in time by the administrators.

Flintoff, who will return to captain the England team in the Champions Trophy in India after an ankle injury kept him out of action for the past few months, said the packed schedules are bound to cause breakdowns -- especially among bowlers, who are at greater risk of picking up injuries.

''Careers are going to get shorter with the amount of cricket we are playing. It's not seasonal for us any more - we play at home in the summer and then we go away,'' Flintoff was quoted by the 'Mirror' as saying.

''If you look at the schedule we have got in the next few months, there's not a great deal of time off. We've got the ICC Trophy, the Ashes and then, when we come back from the World Cup, we start back again in England next summer,'' he added.

''For bowlers, especially, it's inevitable with the stresses and strains they will not be able to go on for as long as players did before,'' he further elaborated.

However, despite the concerns about too much cricket, the talismanic all-rounder said he was all excited about the Champions Trophy in India and was gearing up to test his bowling speed after recovering from the ankle injury.

''I can't wait to get to India -- I missed 12 weeks of the season and I've worked hard to get back on the field. I've been batting, I've done a few walk-through drills with the ball and I'll build up and see how I feel when I start to bowl quicker,'' Flintoff told 'Sky Sports'.

''But I'm confident I'll be fine after the work I've done -- everything I've done has responded well to the operation and I'm progressing wellm,'' he added.

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