'Flintoff sets dangerous precedent'

Lloyd says England all-rounder quit Test cricket for T20 money

“Would some of these guys have retired if there was no Twenty20? It is obvious if I’m being paid USD 1.5 million and I don’t have to put in too much work then, yes, I’ll go the other way,” Lloyd said at the ICC History Conference at Oxford on Thursday.

“It is a bit unfortunate Flintoff decided to leave Test cricket and he knows his body and know how bad his ankle is but he is a tremendous cricketer. But the point is he is not going to play for Lancashire -- he will play for England in the ODIs and Twenty20. The point is it is destroying the fabric of the game,” questioned the former West Indies captain.

Worried that more players may tread the path of Flintoff, Lloyd said he would be happy if international cricketers retired late in their career.

“When a player retires in his prime and when you have poured all that money on him to get him where he is now and then he leaves that is a bother for me. Like Dwayne Bravo, if he decides to leave halfway (into his career) that is not a situation I would like. I would like a situation where people leave later on and there is a natural progression of young players. But I can tell you there are a few more people coming up shortly to announce retirements if this goes on,” he warned.

Citing the example of the current West Indies side which is good in Twenty20 but has been struggling in Tests, Lloyd said the huge amount of money being paid in lucrative T20 tournaments is affecting the traditional format of the game.