NEWS
Follow UsEngland's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick said Andrew Flintoff is now back to his old self after the former all-rounder's horrific car crash. The 45-year-old had been out of the public eye since being in a serious car accident while filming for the BBC driving show Top Gear last December.
After a lengthy recovery, Flintoff was coaxed into joining England's backroom staff in an unpaid capacity earlier in September. Trescothick was an England team-mate of Flintoff for several years and is relieved to see his friend rediscover his boisterous personality after such a traumatic experience.
"It's been hard actually because he hammers me more than anyone else. I'm the first target for his banter at the moment, but having him around has been superb, it really has," said Trescothick.
"Seeing him grow back into Freddie and getting back into the cricket…obviously he's been away from cricket for a long period of time. But this is where it all starts and where it belongs for him. The guys have really taken to him.'
"He's been brilliant. A couple of times he's spoken in the changing room it's been like, 'wow'. You can see the difference, and I've seen the progression of him as a character; the way he talks and delivers messages to players has been superb. To have him sprinkling a bit of gold dust around the team and having the younger players working with that has been invaluable, really. You can't put a price on it."
Flintoff was initially enlisted for England's recent ODIs against New Zealand ahead of the forthcoming World Cup. But the former England captain, who memorably played a key role in his country's 2005 Ashes series triumph, has remained involved in the current ODI clashes against Ireland.
"I think he was a little bit nervous coming into the environment. He doesn't know many of the people so, from where he was coming in first at Cardiff to where he is now, he's grown massively," Trescothick said.
"He's back into the person you expect to be around cricket because that's what I've seen for so many years and it's been great, really good. He's really enjoyed the opportunity and the team have taken to him being around. Hopefully, we'll see more of him in the future."
That three-match series against Ireland concludes in Bristol on Tuesday, with an experimental England squad holding a 1-0 lead after their victory at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
England are resting the squad that will travel to India for the defence of their World Cup crown, offering fringe players a chance to push their case for more regular spots. Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed is one of those emerging youngsters, impressing at the weekend with figures of 4-54 against Ireland.
"I like the way he keeps relishing opportunities and keeps doing the business. As a younger player, there's a lot more scrutiny on him. He comes into the Test team and gets five wickets (against Pakistan in December), he comes into this format and does well. Hopefully, that carries on."
(With inputs from AFP)
