Flintoff better than Botham: Sobers

London, Nov 14 (UNI) West Indian legend Sir Gary Sobers rates Andrew Flintoff as a better all-rounder than Ian Botham for his ability to inspire the team but fears that the burden of captaincy may bog him down in the long-run.

''The way Flintoff plays inspires belief in the rest of his team, and he drags them with him. He can now go out and run it around, play himself in, and then attack. Ian didn't make things happen, he'd go out and smack it about, and if it didn't come off, that was just the way he played,'' the legendary West Indian all-rounder told Cricinfo.

However, Sobers feels the talismanic player still has to learn to manage himself properly as the captain of the side.

''Flintoff must learn to manage the different situations, when is the right time to bowl himself and when is the right time to hold back,'' he explained.

Despite being all praise for Flintoff's never-say-die spirit which has raised the team on several occasions, Sobers felt Micahel Vaughan's stand-in is being asked t do carry out too many jobs simultaneously, which makes it difficult to predict whether he would be able to lead England in a successful Ashes defence.

''As an observer it is impossible to make such a comment without knowing well the characters you are dealing with,'' he said.

UNI XC PM SI ND1216