ANDY Flintoff is free to talk to other counties tomorrow after the deadline on his new Lancashire contract offer passed today.

Flintoff has been linked with other counties, notably Hampshire, since it became known that he was unhappy with Lancashire's contract offer.

But he has not officially been allowed to talk to other counties until his existing Lancashire contract expired today.

Lancashire were hoping that the prospect of a central contract from Lord's following his selection for the winter tour of South Africa would help them keep Flintoff at Old Trafford.

But chairman Jack Simmons has always insisted that the club would and could not break its salary structure even for Flintoff.

And that has produced a stalemate which could now lead to the unthinkable - Flintoff moving south next season.

None of the other Lancashire players who have been made new contract offers, including captain John Crawley and senior player Neil Fairbrother, have yet signed their new deals.

But unlike Flintoff, they are on 12 month contracts which do not expire for another two months. In Flintoff's case, today was D Day - and it looked certain to pass without any agreement.

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