Andrew Flintoff has ended speculation over his career by announcing the Ashes Series will be his last Test Series. The burly Ashes legend has stated his intention is to make himself available for One Day Internationals and Twenty Twenty cricket and intends to play a big part in the future of English Cricket.

Flintoff, who has missed 25 of England's last 48 Tests through a variety of injuries, suffered another fitness scare on the eve of the Lord's Test, when he reported soreness and swelling in the same right knee that required surgery back in April, after he tore his meniscus while playing in the IPL.

He was quick to state that it was a sudden decision but one that he has thought hard and long about 'It's not something I have just thought of overnight, it's something that's been on my mind for a while regarding this series," said Flintoff. "With the knee flaring up again and getting the injections on Monday, now is a time I felt comfortable with doing it. There's been a lot of speculation over my future for the past few weeks, so I wanted to get it out there, and concentrate on playing cricket.'

When asked what had been the best part of his Test career, Flintoff pointed to the period between 2003 and 2005, when he averaged over 40 with the bat and turned himself into one of the most feared bowlers in the world.

"When Michael Vaughan took over as captain, I played some of my best cricket in the next two or three years. I would have liked my career to have kicked on after that. But since then, I have never got that rhythm of playing day in and day out. I have been a professional rehabber for most of the last two years."

Although this is a disappointing and sad time for English Test Cricket, Flintoff has openly displayed his ambition to play right up until the 2015 World Cup. After explaining his rationale for his decision, which comes into force at the end of the England-Australia series, Flintoff said that he wanted to concentrate on the shorter form of the game. He intends to use the time freed up by his Test retirement to become the best one-day player in the world.

So the big man is looking at his last four tests and it is undoubted he will provide something special to cement his place amongst the cricketing greats.