Flintoff named England Lions head coach

Andrew Flintoff’s determination into coaching has grown further with his assignment arsenic brag of England Lions for the adjacent year.

The 46-year-old erstwhile England all-rounder returned to cricket past twelvemonth pursuing a clang connected the acceptable of Top Gear that near him with terrible facial injuries.

He has since worked with the England white-ball team, been caput manager of Northern Superchargers successful The Hundred and this week is with the England Test broadside for the last lucifer of the bid against Sri Lanka.

Flintoff volition instrumentality up his caller relation adjacent month. The Lions are scheduled for wintertime tours of South Africa and Australia, past are owed to play India A and Zimbabwe astatine location adjacent summer.

“I’m incredibly excited to instrumentality connected this relation with the England Lions,” said Flintoff. “It’s a fantastic accidental to enactment with immoderate of the champion up-and-coming endowment successful the state and to assistance signifier the aboriginal of the men’s game.

“It’s an breathtaking clip for English cricket, and I’m passionate astir inspiring the adjacent procreation to instrumentality the athletics forward. We’ve got a beardown foundation, and I judge we tin make thing genuinely special.”

Flintoff played 79 Tests for England betwixt 1998 and 2009, including a starring relation successful the epic Ashes triumph of 2005, for which helium was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

After ending his playing career, Flintoff moved into tv presenting and fronted Top Gear from 2019 until his life-changing mishap successful 2022.

In the 2nd bid of his documentary Field Of Dreams, which concluded connected BBC One past week, Flintoff revealed the mishap near him struggling with anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks.

"I don't cognize what wholly amended is," helium said successful scenes filmed astatine the opening of this year.

"I americium what I americium now. I'm antithetic to what I was. It's thing I volition person to woody with for the remainder of my life. Better? No, different."

Flintoff, who is adjacent friends with England managing manager Rob Key, returned to nationalist beingness by moving with the white-ball squad astatine the extremity of past summer.

He remained a regular diagnostic successful the limited-overs set-up, including astatine the T20 World Cup successful the Caribbean and USA successful June. Flintoff joined the Test radical astatine The Oval this week and conducted an affectional headdress presumption for debutant Josh Hull connected Friday.

On the aforesaid day, Key told Test Match Special: "Freddie is loving coaching. Sometimes it is simply a trait that is not spoken astir capable - helium is kind. All of the things Fred tin be: funny, extrovert. He is kind. It is an underrated quality."

Flintoff’s instrumentality to the crippled has coincided with lad Rocky’s accelerated ascent done the ranks astatine Lancashire.

The 16-year-old lone made his 2nd XI debut successful April and has since signed nonrecreational presumption with the club, made debuts successful first-class and List A cricket and besides played for England Under-19s.

Corey Flintoff, aged 18, has besides played for Lancashire 2nd XI.