England will want to win Ashes for Flintoff

With Andrew Flintoff set to hang up his Test boots after the ongoing Ashes, his English teammates would do everything to win the series as a farewell gift to the burly all-rounder, believes former Australia wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist.

Gilchrist paid glowing tribute to Flintoff and felt it would inspire England to put their best foot forward in the ongoing Ashes.

"I don't think the Aussies will be affected but it can be a boost for the English players," Gilchrist said.

"I know from my time that a when a great player retired, you did everything you could to see them off with a series win. So England will be up for this Ashes series even more," said the Australian.

Gilchrist had no qualms admitting that Flintoff, as an opponent, often made life difficult for him.

"Freddie announcing his retirement means there will be a lot of Test cricketers sleeping easy now.

"He definitely terrorised me and my team-mates on many occasions," he said.

Gilchrist was of the view that Flintoff, as the premier all-rounder of his era, shouldered more responsibility than his body could endure and paid the price with a premature retirement.

"It's always sad when a player of that calibre retires but his body clearly couldn't cope with the demands. I think Freddie is a victim of his own abilities and skill he happily took on huge responsibility with the bat and ball," he said.

Even though Flintoff's contract with the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League added to the workload, Gilchrist did not see anything wrong in it.

"That brings physical stress but there is a lot of cricket around too and it's hard not to be drawn to financially rewarding competitions. You have to maximise your earnings in the small window of playing time you have in a career," said Gilchrist, who led Deccan Chargers to a fairytale triumph in the second edition of the IPL in South Africa.