Flintoff takes top cricket award

Flintoff was voted Player of the Year by his peers

Andrew Flintoff has been named the NatWest Professional Cricketers' Association Player of the Year.

England's Ashes hero won the top award, voted for by his peers, for the second year running at the PCA dinner at the Royal Albert Hall.

Essex batsman Alastair Cook, 20, was named PCA Young Player of the Year, in addition to the Cricket Writers' Club prize he won last month.

Ian Botham was named the Greatest England Cricketer of the last 25 years.

And umpire David Shepherd received a special award from the England and Wales Cricket Board to mark his retirement after 24 years in the job.

Is Botham really the greatest English Player of the last 25 years? From TG Have your say on TMS

PCA chief executive Richard Bevan, meanwhile, has predicted a "rosy future" for the English game providing it does not become swamped with imported players.

"We would like to see more opportunities for youngsters coming through, possibly less overseas players and more investment in the grass roots of the game," he said.

"England have to make sure they have a good young group of players to choose from. We have to get as many England-qualified players as we can playing the county game.

"We have to look at the long-term, which is not always a very easy thing for clubs to do."