In an exciting moment for the next generation of English cricket, Freddie Flintoff’s son Rocky surpassed his first half-century for the local club this week.
Rocky, still just 16 years old, only made his senior debut on 28 July to become Lancashire‘s youngest-ever first-team cricketer and now, less than a fortnight later, he has already hit well over a half-century.
In truth, he was closer to making it a full century, topping out at nearly 90 and the milestone has already done more than enough to get cricket fans all over the country excited.
Lancashire did ultimately go on to lose to Middlesex by five wickets in what was their sixth One-Day Cup group defeat, but the son of the county and national team legend was the real story.
Rocky Flintoff 88 (115)
Flintoff, 16, has his first half-century for Lancashire.
Reacting online, social media was awash with pure hype over the teenager and understandably so, with The Cricketer simply sharing the video along with the caption: “just 16 years of age…”
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One fan wrote, “This Rocky Flintoff is only 16 and my word he is a joy to watch. So excited to watch his future unfold”, while another added, “Looks one hell of a player, lovely to see.”
The youngster reached his maiden half-century on his Emirates Old Trafford after 77 balls, smacking a quadruple of fours and a six on his way there.
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He exited with his final tally of 88 from 115 and has already impressed with his batting record throughout the youth ranks and under 19s in particular earlier this year.
Naturally, people have been drawing similarities between Rocky and Flintoff senior, with plenty already having done so prior to this week.
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Andrew Flintoff and his 16-year-old son, Rocky, share a near identical batting technique 🤯
As alluded to, Rocky Flintoff had already hit two full centuries prior to turning pro: one for England U19s in a youth Test against Sri Lanka and another for Lancashire’s second XI.
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He could have made it a full 100 this time too had he two sixes from the final two balls of the innings but was ultimately caught out by Josh de Caires – who, as it happens, is also the son of another former Lancs and England captain, Michael Atherton.
Nevertheless, Rocky Flintoff is already looking like one to watch and if he turns out to be even half the player his father was then the future of the national team is seemingly in very good hands.
Meanwhile, dad Freddie has spoken out about the “anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks” he has suffered following his crash on the set of Top Gear in December 2022 as part of a new BBC programme.
Tributes paid as Curzon Ashton FC founder Harry Twamley dies following a ‘long illness’
Danny Jones
Tributes are pouring as local team Curzon Ashton FC have confirmed that club founder Harry Twamley BEM has sadly passed awayat the age of 82.
Based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside, the National League North side shared the news on Wednesday morning, with fans across the region as well as up and down the English footballing pyramid paying their respects.
Posting on social media, the Curzon Ashton official accounts wrote: “It is with deep regret that we announce that Harry Twamley (BEM) passed away after a long illness.”
“Our condolences are expressed to Richard and Jayne and to the rest of his family at this time.”
While they explained that a full statement will be shared online in the coming days, the initial announcement on the club website featured heartfelt words from former club chairman Wayne Salkeld, who took over from Twamley back in the 2018/19 season, spending five years at the helm.
Salkeld said: “It’s a sad day for everyone at the club. I was honoured when Harry asked me to become chairman in 2018/19 and I will never forget that day.
“I’m going to miss our phone calls which were every day. Thanks for the memories and we will work hard to keep your legacy going.”
Curzon Ashton director Oliver Newall also shared a touching tribute to the club founder, who set up the club back in 1963, adding: “What an incredible man. Someone who brought Curzon Ashton into the world and whom without we would not have had so many amazing moments and memories.
“The word legend gets thrown around too often… Harry Twamley was a legend and he will be missed so much.” He was joined by numerous fans and other clubs in offering their condolences.
Other teams paying tribute included Salford City, Saddleworth Cricket Club and nearby non-league outfit, FC United of Manchester.
The lattermost wrote: “From all at FC United, we would like to pay our respects to a legend of the game in Greater Manchester, we ground-shared at Curzon Ashton and saw first-hand what an immense character Harry was.”
Twamley was named in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honours list back in 2017 and awarded an Order of the British Empire medal for his services to amateur football. Our thoughts go out to his friends, family, The Nash and their supporters.
Rest in peace to an important local figure and treasured champion of the grassroots game.
Manchester City is looking for ‘diehard fans’ to be part of a new documentary series
Emily Sergeant
Manchester City is looking for some diehard fans to be part of a new documentary series by sharing their love for the club.
The Sky Blues are no stranger to a documentary, having had several successful series and feature-length shows air on Amazon Prime, Netflix, and the club’s own online TV platform CITY+, over the past couple of years – drawing in millions of viewers across the globe each time.
But now, it sounds like there’s another one in the works… and you could be a part of it.
The football club is looking for families with four generations of supporters to share their special memories of following Manchester City down the years.
📣 We’re looking for diehard fans to share their special City memories for an exciting new documentary series!
On top of this, the club is also keen to find fan videos that can help take documentary viewers into the stands from a City fan’s perspective, and is asking that people get in touch and send footage that they’ve taken of some of the club’s most famous moments from over the years – including reactions to Sergio Aguero’s famous goal against QPR in 2012, and the Treble-winning season.
Footage could also be submitted from other important milestones such as the 1999 play off final, or from things like random away days in the 1980s, or even City-themed kids’ birthday parties from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.
No matter whether the footage was taken on a mobile phone, old-school video camera, or something similar, it could come in useful.
Manchester City is looking for ‘diehard fans’ to be part of a new documentary series / Credit: Manchester City
The only condition is that all footage submitted by fans must be their own, and not recordings from commercial media, or copied from YouTube or any other media/social media outlets.
Keen to be a part of the production then?
If you would like you and your family to be considered for the documentary, then you can email [email protected] with your details and stories about supporting City.