Andrew Flintoff, popularly known as Freddie, is back in front of the cameras, after his horrific crash last year while driving an open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 for the BBC motor show, Top Gear, last December at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.
Freddie Flintoff is one of England’s greatest-ever players and one of the greatest all-rounders in cricketing history. The 45-year-old cricketer made a significant impact in both formats, amassing a total of 395 wickets and scoring 7239 runs across 79 test matches and 141 one-day Internationals.
His heroics alongside Kevin Pietersen helped the England team to win the famous 2005 Ashesh Test series 2-1, the Three Lions’ first win since 1986-87, which also earned him the Man of the Series award.
The good news is that he is back at the cricket ground after a long 9-month hiatus, as he was recovering from severe facial injuries and multiple broken ribs after crashing his open-topped Morgan Super 3 which he was driving at 130mph.
On Friday, Freddie was seen in England coaching attire, standing on the balcony of Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens. This marked the first sighting of former England captain Andrew Flintoff since he suffered severe facial injuries during England’s inaugural one-day international against New Zealand.
However, his wounds haven’t healed properly as his photos are being circulated on social media and fans have shared genuine concerns. What perturbed everyone is the fact that even after 9 months of break, his scars still seem to linger on, which reflects how horrible it must have been when the crash took place.
England Captain Jos Butler highly values Andrew Flintoff’s presence as he believes the current England players have a lot to learn from the legendary all-rounder. The England Captain said, “So he’s been starting to do some stuff in cricket. It’s just great for him to be around, he’s obviously an England legend and it’s just nice to have him around the group. He’s not been brought in with any specific role, just to be around and observe. A few of the lads can pick his brains a little bit and he’s settled in really well. It’s great to have him with us. Just for this series”.
The former England fast bowler, Stuart Broad, who recently retired from international cricket, also met his former teammate to check if he is settling with the team as a mentor, ahead of the second ODI international against the Kiwis.
Broad said to sky sports journalist, Ian Ward, “Yeah great. I saw him in Cardiff and had 10 minutes with him and he was in really fine form. “He’s been doing some work with the England under-19s which he really enjoyed, and he just arrived in Cardiff to settle into this group for this series”.
It is also reported that the former Lancashire player had to wait for 45 minutes for an air ambulance to arrive after he flipped his three-wheeled-open-top car, as BBC later gave an “unacceptable” apology.
The former England Captain’s wife begged him to stay out of sports after his life-threatening crash, but apparently, it’s tough to keep Freddie out of the ground. Much to our delight he is not going back to Top Gear but is back in his natural habitat.
