ANDREW Flintoff has spent most of the summer living up to the epithet of the 'new Ian Botham' and, tomorrow, the process will finally be complete.

Twenty-four years after Botham became the one and only cricketer to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Flintoff is set to emulate his achievement.

After everything that has happened in this most dramatic of cricketing years, there can be no more fitting accolade than that.

The recent Test series defeat in Pakistan might have taken some of the lustre off England's golden summer, but it should not be allowed to tarnish the memories of a first Ashes win in 16 years.

Nor should it overshadow Flintoff's Herculean efforts as cricket replaced football at the forefront of the nation's sporting conscience.

No matter what he was doing, the ebullient all-rounder provided the face of the summer. Grimacing as he gave his all to take 24 wickets and hit 402 runs. Heartfelt as he knelt to commiserate with a crestfallen Brett Lee. Vacant as he led the celebrations on an open-top bus tour of London.

Like all great sportsmen or women, Flintoff transcended the boundaries of his sport to reach out to the nation.

People who had no previous interest in cricket suddenly found themselves transfixed by an honest Lancashire lad who wore his heart on his sleeve and embodied all of the values that we cherish in sporting competition.

By succeeding Dame Kelly Holmes as the recipient of the BBC's showpiece award, Flintoff is proving that good guys can indeed win.

This year, more than any other, British sport has had its fair share of amiable achievers.

Frank Lampard has broken the record for consecutive appearances in the Premiership, he currently leads the Premiership goal charts and was recently voted runner-up to Ronaldinho in the European Player of the Year poll.

Just as significantly, he has done all of that with a smile on his face and displayed an eloquence and intelligence that makes him one of English football's greatest ambassadors.

Steven Gerrard inspired Liverpool to an incredible Champions League comeback that saw them crowned champions of Europe at the end of a heady night in Istanbul.

Andy Murray has overshadowed Tim Henman to become the new darling of British tennis, while Colin Montgomerie has turned his life around to regain his position as Europe's number one golfer.

Ultimately, though, Flintoff's only serious rival did not wear a T-shirt and shorts. He came kitted out in a suit and, on a momentous July morning, won Britain the greatest sporting prize of them all.

Sebastien Coe, who won the BBC award as an athlete in 1979, transformed a London Olympic bid that appeared dead in the water as Paris romped ahead in the polls. The legacy of his efforts will be felt for many years to come.

The same is true, though, of Flintoff.

At the start of the year, cricket was an after-thought for much of the British public.

By the end of the summer, it was a national obsession.

That, more than anything, is why he will be a worthy winner tomorrow night.