Freddie Flintoff on how he was treated in cricket circles after coaching comeback
Former England cricketer Freddie Flintoff said that he was anxious to meet England cricketers after he took up a coaching job with the England Lions after suffering an accident on the set of BBC’s Top Gear in 2022 – an incident that caused facial injuries which required surgery.
Flintoff after retiring from cricket at the age of 31, transitioned into a media personality and took up TV show appearances in Britain. In 2023 after recovering from the accident Flintoff returned to coach the England Lions. In an interview to the Times, the 47-year-old recounted how he was nervous to meet players and found it hard to get out of his room.
“That day in Cardiff, it took me ten goes to leave my bedroom. I couldn’t get out of the room. In that hotel room in Cardiff I was so anxious and worried. I eventually went down to breakfast; sat down and chatted with Reece Topley and then Jos [Buttler]. I had to go back to my room to get my baseball mitt and ‘flicker’ and I was waiting for the lift again and heard footsteps. I knew it would be ‘Stokesy [Ben Stokes]’.
“I didn’t really know him then. I’ve built a great relationship with him since, but I was anxious about that, standing in the lift with him. We were both stood there. He’s ‘Stokesy’ and I am supposed to be like that, I suppose, but I didn’t feel like that.
“I got on the team bus. Jonny Bairstow came and sat with me; I’ve known Jonny since he was young, from playing with his brother. In the dressing room, Joe Root came over, one of the best men you’ll ever meet, and everyone made me feel so welcome. Slowly but surely I started to find my feet. And sitting on the balcony and being pictured. Even the press were nice about me. It’s amazing what an accident can do,” Flintoff said to the Times.