Thursday, April 27 2006 09:51 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: England cricket hero Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is to team up with rock legend Elton John in a one-off charity duet next month.

The unlikely pairing of the flamboyant pop superstar and the crowd-pleasing all-rounder of England's Ashes victory over Australia will take place during Flintoff's charity event at Battersea Park, south London, on May 9.

The cricket-loving singer - whose 'Elton John Greatest Hits Volume II' album cover shows him taking strike at the crease in the moonlight - has a record of performing duets with artists from George Michael to Eminem.

But he said he was looking forward to his forming a partnership with a cricketer for the first time.

"Andrew puts bums on seats, makes the game as exciting as it can be," he said Wednesdsay (Apr 26, 2006).

'He plays the game in a sporting manner'

"And he plays the game in a sporting manner, the manner in which all sports should be played," John was quoted as saying by the domestic Press Association news agency.

Flintoff's public singing career has extended only to his drunken version of Elvis Presley's 'Suspicious Minds' during the raucous post-Ashes celebrations in London's Trafalgar Square last year.

"I'm really looking forward to Elton performing 'Rocket Man' which became such a special part of last summer's Ashes success," admitted Flintoff.

Flintoff is seeking to raise more than one million pounds (1.4 million euros, 1.7 million dollars) for a number of charities, including one set up in memory of England and Surrey cricketer Ben Hollioake, who was killed in a car crash in Australia in 2002.