Freddie Flintoff

 

Freddie Flintoff

Freddie with some of his cricketing boys

Arising out of the previous blog to this, on cricket and white working-class boys, I became really interested in the class implications of cricket which I had rarely thought about before. From there, I wandered into Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams where this famous cricketer and TV presenter worked with a series of youngsters, boys and eventually, girls, from deprived backgrounds, none of whom was in the least interested in learning to play cricket, and most of whom had never heard of him. However, even I had heard of him: Andrew Flintoff, an accomplished cricketer and a bit of a Jack-the-lad in earlier days; always called Freddie since school days, on account of the similarity between his name and the cartoon character, Freddie Flintstone. After watching Field of Dreams and admiring his real skill and concern in managing and befriending teenage boys and girls whose lives he changed completely, I too became a Freddie-follower, perfectly understanding the comment of one of the teenage girls Freddie was desperately trying to understand and cricket-train. She said, “I do understand now why my Mum fancies Freddie.” I ended up fancying Freddie too but also admiring his serious intent and empathy, often masked by insouciance! 

Since then, I have read a lot about him on various websites and in commentaries. I was astonished to learn that he has suffered from bulimia and watched a powerful and unflinching documentary, he made 

In his early career when he was 'a big lad' he was 
'fat-shamed' in the media which led to his self-loathing
and shame and ultimately, bulimia.

in 2020, entitled Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia which outlined his personal journey into this eating disorder which he kept secret for over 20 years. At the end of the documentary, Flintoff said he would like to seek treatment for his bulimia, which he has never done previously despite the long period he had been struggling with it. The film certainly made me understand the mental anguish and the mood swings of a world controlled by bulimia.

Among many TV shows in which he has appeared, in January 2012 he produced a documentary entitled, Freddie Flintoff: Hidden Side of Sport, about his, and other sports stars’, experience of suffering clinical depression. He spoke candidly in moving interviews about the serious effects of depression, confronting his own issues as Captain of England under pressure at the top of his game. He also testified to the stigma attached to men talking about depression in the face of an often-unforgiving and mystified public. Between these two programmes, in 2012 another documentary, Flintoff: From Lord’s to the Ring, followed the cricketer over three episodes in which he explored a possible career as a professional boxer under the guidance of trainers Barry McGuigan and his son, Shane McGuigan. In fact, he only had one professional match in November 2012, which he won on points after which, mercifully, Flintoff chose cricket!

HIs one professional match.

Under the heading Filmography, there is an astonishing list, almost endless, of the various shows and presentations in which Freddie has appeared from 2005. As I do not have a TV set and watch only
selected stuff on my iPad, I have never come across Freddie in the multitude of shows in which he has appeared, and I am even more amazed that the teenagers he was working with recently had never seen the famous Flintoff, although, clearly, their Mums had.

Freddie’s cricketing career has been stellar; he was one of the sport’s leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-order batsman and slip fielder, consistently rated by the ICC as being among the top international all-rounders. He served as both captain and vice-captain of the England team and the list of his titles such as the Ashes Man of the Series is long and exhaustive on Wikipedia! Along his illustrious journey, he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of Preston, his hometown [2006] and in 2011 an Honorary Fellowship of the Preston-based Myerscough College. He also managed to produce six books along the way!

Consoling Lee, Edgbaston, 2005 Ashes

After his second retirement in 2015, Freddie has been involved with numerous projects, designing his own fashion range; winning the first series of the Australian version of ‘I’m A Celebrity…. Get Me Out of Here! ; becoming part of Sky One’s sports-based comedy panel show, A League of Their Own; and being a successful and popular presenter of the BBC One car show, Top Gear in 2019, remaining until he sustained serious injuries resulting from an accident during filming in late 2022 after which it took around a painful, difficult year for him to regain his relatively normal mental and physical health although he still bears the visible facial scars and suffered nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety for a long time.

It is so good to see a professionally successful cricketer with the humanity and vision to find youngsters, mainly from working-class, deprived backgrounds, introduce them to cricket then mould them into effective cricket teams which he helps train and promote. Freddie Flintoff, a complex man, manages to make the working-class kids in his cricketing orbit feel good about themselves; introduces them to learning and practising competitive and co-operative skills in a game they grow to love; and thus, generally moves them on and up into healthier, happier lives. This is a multi-talented man!

During the India tour with his boys' team in 2024

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