London, July 15 2009: Andrew Flintoff’s announcement to retire from Test cricket has surprised Australia captain Ricky Ponting but the visitors do not believe they now need to make any special plan to tackle the burly England all-rounder in the rest of the Ashes series.

“We’re a little bit surprised to tell you the truth. I guess we’re all just a bit eager now to see what happens with him tomorrow if he’s fit to play in the game,” Ponting said.

On being asked about the Flintoff’s choice of timing to call it quits, Ponting said,”It depends how bad his injury is, I guess. If his injury is significant then it’s probably not a bad time. If he’s been thinking about it for a while it probably is a little bit surprising it’s come on the eve of the second Test match.”

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