Flintoff awarded top accolade

Andrew Flintoff and Shane Warne were both star performers during this summer's Ashes

Andrew Flintoff has been crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year after his super-human efforts this summer helped England reclaim the Ashes from Australia for the first time since 1987.

No longer do fans need to hark back 24 years to 1981, and the series universally known as Botham's Ashes, for an instance when an English player has had such a single-handed influence.

After an understandably nervous start, England went on to dominate their illustrious opponents, securing the series 2-1 following a dramatic draw in the final Test at the Brit Oval.

No man did more for the cause than Flintoff, who rubber-stamped his position as the best all-rounder in the world by taking 24 wickets and scoring 402 runs.

For his efforts he was named man of the series and became the inaugural winner of the Compton-Miller Medal.

England won the Team of the Year accolade © Getty Images

However, surely the most enduring image of the summer was that of Flintoff consoling Brett Lee at the end of a titanic contest at Edgbaston; a gesture that said so much about the character of a man affectionately known as 'Freddie'.

Flintoff topped the public poll ahead of record-breaking yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur and Liverpool’s Champions League-winning skipper Steven Gerrard.

It was a night of double celebration at BBC Studios when the England cricket team won Team of the Year. Vaughan was on hand in London to receive the award on behalf of the team, alongside team-mates Ashley Giles, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones - pipping Premiership champions Chelsea and European champions Liverpool to the honour.

And finally on a programme dominated by cricket, Aussie legend Shane Warne picked up the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.

The award was presented by Richie Benaud in Melbourne in recognition of the spin bowler's outstanding contribution to cricket - and the Ashes series, that saw him bag 40 wickets despite being in the losing side.