CURLY KING! Boy who grew up to be a hero; THE MAKING OF FREDDIE.

Byline: By PAUL GALLAGHER 

HE was a curly-haired kid crazy about cricket - but plenty of highs and lows lay in wait for Andrew Flintoff on his journey to sporting superman status.

From picking up a bat competitively at the age of six to a contract with Lancashire at 16 and a Test debut at 20, his talent was clearly something special.

Whether it was good enough to make him the man who would one day prise open Australia's grip on the Ashes was often doubted.

And it was Flintoff's own flaws that posed some of the question-marks.

Nicknamed Freddie, after the Flintstone, he was a 6ft 4in likely lad who enjoyed a pint, a pie and a good night out.

His weight once ballooned to 19 stone - more than the then heavyweight champion of the world Lennox Lewis - and he joked a little bitterly with the media after one good score: "I played all right for a fat lad."

Injuries took a hand too, but by 2003 he was fighting fit and focused on being the cricketing giant he promised to be as a child in Preston.

Dad Colin said: "I've always played club cricket and Andrew would watch even when he was still in his pram. He spent more time holding a bat than a bottle."

Flintoff played his first match at six for Dutton Forshaw under-14s. His father and older brother Chris were already at the club, so he desperately wanted to join in. Opportunity came early when the team were a player short.

At Greenlands Primary School, he played with future Manchester United footballer Phil Neville and the pair broke into Lancashire's under-11 side. Later, at Ribbleton Hall High School in Preston, he wrote "professional cricketer" on a form detailing career interests. He was told to think of a more realistic option. Flintoff ignored the advice and concentrated on hitting a cricket ball hard.

Dad Colin remembers how one "six" crashed through the window of a nearby house, ricocheted around the dining-room and came to rest on the table, as the occupants were having tea.

Another time, a big hit flew through an open back door and crashed into a washing machine.

Dave Graham was a member at Flintoff's boyhood club, St Anne's in Blackpool.

He recalled: "Every time the phone rang during games, it would be the local residents complaining. We used to dread answering it.

"In the end, one person refused to throw the ball back and one house needed so many new tiles it looked as though it had been re-roofed.

"Andrew used to open the batting with Eldine Baptiste, the former West Indies all-rounder, who was club professional.

"When those two got going everyone ducked for cover and the club had to increase its insurance premiums."

At 15 he made his debut for Lancashire's second team against Glamorgan. He was so nervous he almost forgot his helmet as he came out to bat.

Afterwards coach John Stanworth called him Fred for the first time, as in Flintstone, and the name stuck.

An England under-19 place followed, a Test bow against South Africa in 1998, and a tough three-year fight to win over his critics. Flintoff even made the top 10 in a poll of all-time fattest cricketers.

A hernia problem ruined a tour to Australia in 2002 and this summer was his first crack at cricket's hardest opponents for the greatest prize of all - the Ashes, which we last won in 1987.

Flintoff and wife Rachael - who have a baby daughter Holly - even postponed a honeymoon in March so he could recover from an ankle injury in time to face the Aussies.

After proving himself against South Africa and the West Indies, this was the crunch.

Now, over four thrilling days at Edgbaston, Birmingham, scores of 68 and 73 with the bat - including a record nine sixes - and seven wickets with the ball have seen him crowned as king of English cricket at the age of 27.

Yesterday he captured the vital scalp of Shane Warne, to add to that of skipper Ricky Ponting the day before, as Australia scented an "impossible" victory.

Then when it was all over, with the series squared 1-1, the original Ashes superman Ian Botham paid tribute to him.

Now a TV commentator, Botham said it was a throwback to the "good old days" of 1981 when his runs and wickets rocked the Aussies.

Botham called Flintoff's performance "magnificent" and added: "Flintoff's great gift is not just that he makes things happen on the pitch when it matters - but he always manages to convey a real sense of enjoyment."

Flintoff, who braved a shoulder injury to spearhead the England victory and take the man-of-the-match award, said it was "probably my best day of cricket to date".

He added: "It's the highest point so far. We came out expecting to win but I don't think anyone expected it to be quite like that."

As his teammates cavorted around Edgbaston, nice guy Flintoff's first thought was for unbeaten Australian batsman Brett Lee. He offered consoling words to the opponent who very nearly became the hero himself.

Now England will go into the Third Test at Old Trafford on Thursday believing they can reclaim the Ashes.

CAPTION(S):

ANGELIC: Curly-haired Freddie and brother Chris as children; ROOKIE: Teenage player; FAMILY MAN; With wife Rachael and their daughter Holly