Freddie Flintoff appointed head coach of northern cricket team in first role since Top Gear crash
Freddie Flintoff, post Top Gear crash, as part of the England cricket coaching staff / Credit: The Hundred (via X)
Freddie Flintoff has been appointed the Head Coach of the Northern Superchargers cricket team, it has been confirmed.
It’s one of his first permanent roles since the Top Gear horror crash last December.
The former Lancashire and England cricketer, turned popular TV personality and presenter – whose real name is Andrew, but is more commonly-known by the nickname of ‘Freddie’ – was understood to have been helping coach the England limited-overs squads in an unpaid consultancy role over the last few months.
But now, the 45-year-old has landed his first full-time gig after officially being named as the new Head Coach of the Men’s Northern Superchargers team.
Founded in 2019, the Northern Superchargers are a Leeds-based franchise 100-ball cricket team that represent the areas of North East England and Yorkshire in The Hundred competition.
The Preston-born sportsman – who is renowned as one of England’s greatest ever cricket players, having played over 200 times for his country as an all-rounder, before retiring in 2009 – has taken over from ex-England wicketkeeper James Foster, who left the Head Coach role earlier this month.
As mentioned, this is one of Flintoff’s first full-time roles since he was involved in a horror crash while filming for Top Gear back in mid December 2022.
Although the BBC said at the time that his injuries were not life-threatening, sources close to the former England captain revealed he’d been left “psychologically traumatised” following the incident, and said it was likely he would “never return” to Top Gear filming.
He was seen for the first time in the public eye as he sat on the home balcony at England’s opening One Day International match against New Zealand in Cardiff in early September, where he could be seen displaying the ‘serious injuries’ – most notably to his face – he sustained, and then spoke publicly for the first time about “the hardest time” in his life as he presented an England cap to spin bowler Tom Hartley last month.
Flintoff says he is “excited” to step into his new role.
“My time with the England Men’s team has been a reminder of just how special cricket is to me,” Flintoff said in a statement following the appointment, “I’m relishing the opportunity to be back amongst it, helping to guide the Superchargers team to success on the field while making memories off it and helping to take cricket to more people.
“The Superchargers have a great fan base who I cannot wait to meet and bring along with us this season.
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“I’m looking forward to making Headingley my new home.”
Featured Image – The Hundred