Andrew Flintoff will rejoin England’s backroom staff for their T20 series against West Indies later this month.
The former England captain has gradually returned to the public eye following a car crash while filming a stunt for BBC programme Top Gear 12 months ago, which left him with facial and rib injuries.
Coaxed by close friend and director of England men’s cricket Rob Key, Flintoff first linked up with the national side in an unpaid role for ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland before the World Cup.
Flintoff, whose performances with bat and ball in England’s 2005 Ashes triumph earned him cult hero status, has since been confirmed as head coach of Northern Superchargers men’s side in The Hundred.
He is not part of the England set-up for their ODI series against the Windies but it is understood he will fly out to Barbados later this week ahead of five T20s, the first of which is next Tuesday.
The 46-year-old, who will be paid for being a team mentor, has most recently been in Abu Dhabi for an England Lions winter training camp.
Reece Topley has also had a circuitous route to the West Indies, having convalesced from his latest injury blow with a trip to Los Angeles – where the people he encountered thought cricket involved horses or was the real-life version of Quidditch.
The introduction of Major League Cricket this year and the sport being included in the programme for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 represent big strides in the battle to crack the United States market.
But Topley discovered cricket still has some way to go to capture the American public’s imagination after a Stateside trip to recover from a broken finger which brought an early end to his World Cup.
“The amount of times I had to explain cricket to people – it ranged from people asking me ‘is it the sport with horses?’ Or even asking me if it was the sport that was in Harry Potter,” Topley said.
“It’s got a lot of things that Americans would love about cricket; all of their sports are centred around stats and cricket’s got a million stats.
“I feel like there should be that natural affiliation or selling point. I don’t know if it’s happened just yet but hopefully it’s on the horizon.”
Like Flintoff, Topley is not part of England’s ODI squad but travelled to Antigua early to train ahead of a planned comeback in the first T20, having started bowling again recently.
Having an intrepid outlook on life helps to explain his resilience from constant setbacks, from multiple stress fractures in his back to an ankle issue caused by stepping on a boundary sponge days before England’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in Australia and his latest injury in India.
“I don’t think anything is going to be achieved from sitting around and droning on about things or feeling sorry for yourself or looking for external validation,” the 29-year-old left-arm fast bowler said.
“It’s more a case of how do you move forward? The best step is always to have a level head, a drive to want to develop yourself because it is a short career in terms of your life and injuries may happen.
“Wrap my head around why did it happen at the last World Cup or the T20 one before that, but again it’s just not going to get anyone anywhere. It’s just best to just get your head down and work towards it.
“I’m happy doing that when I’m around cricket but then as soon as I’m off duty, it goes right to the back of my head again.
“I don’t think I’m all engulfed in cricket. I do have a viewpoint that I’m still in my 20s and this only comes around once. It’s important to experience certain things whenever you can.”
CG United Super50 Cup final between Scorpions, Pride abandoned due to inclement weather
The CG United Super50 final between the Jamaica Scorpions and the Barbados Pride was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the inclement weather at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.
Barbados Pride, with six titles plus one shared, were hoping to break a mini drought having last won in 2016-17, while Jamaica, with eight titles plus one shared, had ambitions to get back to the summit as their last title was in the 2022-23 season.
Greaves’ maiden century powers Windies to control on day two as Bangladesh reeling at 40-2
West Indies took firm control of their opening Test match against Bangladesh as Justin Greaves’ maiden century piloted the Caribbean side to a mammoth first innings total of 450-9 declared at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.
The hosts then restricted Bangladesh to 40-2 at the close of day two, leaving the visitors with a steep challenge ahead as they look to recover from a poor start.
Mominul Haque, not out on 7, and Shahadat Hossain, unbeaten on 10, will resume on Sunday with Bangladesh at 40-2, still trailing by 410 runs.
Greaves, who enjoyed sublime form in the Super50 Cup with three consecutive centuries, continued that rich vein of form with an unbeaten 115 that anchored West Indies’ innings and ensured a daunting total on the board.
The 30-year-old’s knock, which lasted just over six hours, had only four boundaries and was crucial in reviving the innings after a mid-session slump.
Scores: West Indies 450-9 dec; Bangladesh 40-2
West Indies resumed the day at 250-5 with Greaves on 11, and Joshua da Silva, 14, looking to consolidate their position. However, early breakthroughs from Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud threatened to derail the West Indies’ momentum.
Mahmud struck in the first session, removing da Silva without addition to his overnight score, and Alzarri Joseph (four), who also fell cheaply to leave West Indies at a precarious 261-7.
At that point, the Bangladesh bowlers seemed poised to bowl the Caribbean side down for a score under 300, but Greaves and veteran pacer Kemar Roach had other ideas.
The two Barbadians countered the pressure with patience, building a partnership of 140 runs for the eighth wicket that pushed West Indies past the 400-run mark.
Roach, who had previously struggled with the bat in Tests, made 47—his highest Test score in his 15-year career. He batted for over four hours, frustrating the Bangladesh bowlers with steady defence and timely strokes.
Together, Roach and Greaves weathered the storm, forcing Bangladesh to toil longer and harder than expected. Greaves, in particular, looked in complete control, while Roach’s composed knock provided vital support.
West Indies then made quick inroads in Bangladesh’s reply and reduced the visitors to 2-21, with both openers back in the pavilion cheaply. Alzarri Joseph was the first to strike, removing Mahmudul Hasan Joy for just five runs before Jayden Seales cleaned up Zakir Hasan for 15.
With Bangladesh struggling at 2-21, it seemed as though West Indies were on the brink of another quick domination as they sought to dismiss the Bangladesh top-order cheaply. However, Mominul Haque and Shahadat Hossain managed to negotiate the remainder of the day without further loss.
Australia have 'serious work to do' against India, McSweeney concedes
Nathan McSweeney conceded Australia have "serious work to do" if they are to get back into the first Test against India.
The Baggy Greens trail by 218 runs heading into day three in Perth after an unbroken century partnership of Yashasvi Jaiswal (90) and KL Rahul (62) put the tourists well in control at 172-0 at stumps.
Though they resumed at 67-7, Australia could only add another 37 runs and were bowled out for 104.
McSweeney acknowledged the hosts must improve, and quickly.
"It definitely hasn't gone to plan in the past couple of days," he told ABC. "We've got some serious work to do to get back into this Test. It looks like it is getting easier to bat, so hopefully we get early wickets tomorrow and get batting.
"It is definitely a new-ball wicket. All the damage was done before we could get through to the 35-40-over mark with the bat, so the trick will be nullifying the new ball and having batters in for the 40-80-over mark."
Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann added: "It was a tough day, but hats off to the two Indian batters. They were excellent today and weathered the storm, and they got to the stage where they could take the game on.
"India are well ahead of the game. The wicket has settled down a little bit, but that is more because the Australia bowlers were tired from the first innings and having to bat two hours today."
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