Andrew Flintoff's Test career is running on vapours. When he bats, running between the wickets is a struggle. Every ball he bowls causes him pain, and when a team-mate gets a wicket he looks too exhausted to join in their celebrations.
So it would have been a wonderful thing for England's most passionate cricket supporters - the ones who turn up in their thousands at Edgbaston are exactly that - to see their hero sign off his Test career at the Birmingham ground with his sixth Test century.
Alas, it was not to be. But you can rest assured that 21,000 people will not forget the controlled aggression with which Freddie tormented Australia's bowlers on Sunday en route to a wonderful 74, an innings which contained 10 commanding fours and a six that was no more than an elegantly lofted flick over mid-on.
It has been a source of irritation for Flintoff's detractors that he has not achieved more with the bat through the course of his career. His Test average has hovered in the low 30s as a result of some overly ambitious shots early in his career - and a sometimes fruitless search for form when injuries have interrupted his latter appearances.
For somebody who always wanted to be considered a batsman first and a bowler second, it must have been a bit of a kick in the pants for him to have to bat at seven, behind Matt Prior, in this series - even if he protested otherwise before the first Test.
Edgbaston has been the scene of some fine deeds by Flintoff. For a man who revels in the roar of the crowd, it was always likely to be that way. In 2004, he struck his best score in Tests here, a particularly brutal 167, featuring seven sixes, against West Indies.
He took 4-89 in an innings on this ground against a terrific South African batting line-up last summer.
And in the 2005 Ashes he was man of the match at Edgbaston, taking seven wickets in all, plus making two wonderful half-centuries, the second of which could be regarded as the turning-point of the series.
This time, his innings centred on front-foot drives backed up by strong footwork. There was nothing approaching a mindless thrash and he gave no chances. In between the pretty shots, there was an array of solid defensive blocks that would have interested anyone compiling a coaching manual.
But the small element of good fortune he needed to pick up what would have been only his second century in all cricket since the Trent Bridge Test of 2005 went missing. The first ball from Nathan Hauritz which even remotely troubled him caught his gloves as he pulled his bat out of the way, and a catch lobbed up to slip.
Whatever may happen for Flintoff in his life as a non-Test player - Indian Premier League, another autobiography, occasional turns in England's one-day side - he is blocking out his future until the last ball is bowled at The Oval in this, his final Test series.
His wife Rachael was at Edgbaston on Sunday, so too his three children, the eldest of whom Holly - nearly five - may one day bank this summer as the earliest of her memories.
They had dinner in a Thai restaurant on Saturday, but went back to the hotel promptly at 7.30pm - not so much because the kids needed their bed but because Flintoff did. That's how much this series means to him.