The summer of 2005 will always bring back an indelible image of a blond, brawny colossus throwing his head back, fists clenched, and uttering a conqueror's roar of raw emotion as another Australian began the walk back to the pavilion.

There was no better sight for an England cricket fan than of Andrew Flintoff in full cry, nor a worse one for an Aussie as the Ashes urn began to slip from their grasp.

Some people, Peter Roebuck for one, have already named the series Flintoff's Ashes. That is understandable, because without 'Freddie' in full flight with bat and ball, it is fair to say that England would not have won.

Yet this was a full team effort, much more so than the Botham Ashes series of 1981, where Botham and Bob Willis rampaged through - compared with the current lot at least - a flimsy Australian side.

No one should doubt that Flintoff has been the outstanding British sportsman of 2005 and neither should there be any argument about the England Test side being named as the team of the year, as at one stage or other of the series just about every player stepped up to contribute to the cause at a critical moment in a match.

There was Ashley Giles' 59 in the final Test, in its own way as important as Kevin Pietersen's 158. Giles had also held his nerve with the bat to win England the nail-biting fourth Test at Trent Bridge as an easy victory nearly drifted away.

Simon Jones' six for 53 in the drawn Test at Edgbaston was perhaps the best bowling performance by an England player, while Michael Vaughan's 166 was a timely knock by the captain.

Also important were Andrew Strauss' two centuries, Marcus Trescothick's innate reliability at the top of the order, Steve Harmison's bullish pace and Matthew Hoggard's obstinacy with ball and sometimes bat.

Sport, like comedy, is all about timing. Just as the best individual footballers often peak during World Cup years, so did England's best individual cricketer in his first Test series against Australia.

After a disappointing first Test, Flintoff played a leading role in every match and was indisputably the man of the series. All 6ft 5in of him, he towered over the series, lashing the Aussie unmercifully yet still being responsible for one of the year's most admirable displays of sportsmanship.

There were shades of Ian Botham in his knocks of 68 and 73 and six wickets in the second Test; his blistering 102 in 132 balls at Trent Bridge set up victory, while in the fifth his five for 78, including a devastating spell of four for 30, did as much as anything to bring the precious urn back to Britain.

Perhaps the most memorable single moment of the whole Ashes series though came in the second Test when an astonishing display of batting defiance by Brett Lee so nearly earned an unlikely draw for Australia.

As it was, with two balls remaining Lee's last batting partner Michael Kasprowicz was caught behind off Harmison and England, almost to a man, went wild.

Almost, that is. Flintoff is never one to hide his emotions but instead he ignored the celebrations and went and put his arm round Lee, to commiserate and congratulate his rival on being denied at the death.

''It will go down as one of the great moments in sportsmanship,'' Lee said afterwards. ''He could have hugged his mates and celebrated, but he chose to put his arm around me.''

English cricket needs a hero like Flintoff, a man with the talent of Botham but without the arrogance.

That's why we can look of pictures of Flintoff being poured out of 10 Downing Street after the all-night and all-day celebrations, and being barely able to negotiate the pavement. Had it been other successful sportsmen, the image might have given rise to feelings of distaste among onlookers.

Because it was Flintoff we were able to give him a warm smile, acknowledging there was something slightly innocent and charming about it all. Flintoff is as human a hero as one is ever likely to find.