Flintoff takes a pedalo ride into the future

Duncan Fletcher is unlikely to see the funny side. But Andrew Flintoff has decided to jump back aboard his pedalo and head into Ashes action against Australia. Well, sort of.

England's former coach will need no reminding that Flintoff's not so small hours' outing on the Caribbean behind the wheel of a pedal craft caused real ructions during the World Cup campaign of 2007.

Flintoff, said to have been considerably the worse for drink at the time, was suspended for a match against Canada, stripped of the vice-captaincy and fined. But now, having announced his intention to retire from Test cricket after this summer's Ashes series, the all-rounder is happy to relive the memory of that costly outing – for a good cause.

The 31-year-old stars in a viral ad for the deodorant brand Sure. Supposedly shot by a couple of Australians who have swapped his car for a pedalo, the spoof shows Flintoff pedalling furiously along rivers and canals to keep his Ashes appointment.

The ad has been created to support Flintoff's charity, the AF Foundation, which raises funds for child rehabilitation and physiotherapy units throughout Britain, and could be a useful departure for him.

"There is no doubt that Flintoff's marketing value will drop once he is not playing all forms of the game," a marketing expert said, "but even so I don't think he will ever be short of offers for work."