Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has broken his silence about his near-fatal horror car crash in a new trailer for his show Field of Dreams.
The star, 46, is fronting the new series which sees him put together a team of non-cricketers with the goal of taking them on a tour to India.
But the trip was nearly cancelled after his crash in December 2022 when Freddie’s car flipped over at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – leaving him ‘lucky to be alive’.
In the trailer, which Freddie shared to his Instagram on Tuesday, Freddie says of the incident: ‘But something happened which changed my life forever’.
He is also seen telling the players: ‘We’re all going to find out something about ourselves – me included.’
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has broken his silence about his near-fatal horror car crash in a new trailer for his show Field of Dreams
The star, 46, is fronting the new series which sees him put together a team of non-cricketers with the goal of taking them on a tour to India
The group of boys are all from Freddie’s hometown of Preston and he emotionally tells them: ‘From what I’ve done in my career. You lads are my greatest achievement’.
He says: ‘I want to take you on tour. I want to take you to India,’ before adding: ‘I want the boys to learn to be outside their comfort zone.
‘I just hope and pray that all the boys take these opportunities – and they grab it with both hands.’
The accident left facial scars that while still visible, seemed to be on the mend.
Fans of the star have been relieved to see his recovery taking good shape after he became the new head coach of the Superchargers.
While Freddie kept a low-profile initially in the aftermath of the incident, he has started returning to the public eye in recent months.
Although evidence of his injuries were at first clearly visible, they are already starting to fade somewhat.
Bosses at the BBC felt it would be ‘inappropriate’ to carry on filming Top Gear in wake of what happened.
In the trailer, which Freddie shared to his Instagram on Tuesday, Freddie says of the incident: ‘But something happened which changed my life forever’
But the trip was nearly cancelled after his crash in December 2022 when Freddie’s car flipped over at Dunsfold airfield in Surrey – leaving him ‘lucky to be alive’
In a statement, the broadcaster said: ‘Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future.
‘The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them.
‘We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.’
Freddie was first seen in public following the crash in September last year when he was photographed with cuts on his face.
He was spotted making a return to senior England cricket by joining the coaching staff at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens for the one-day international series against New Zealand as a mentor.
It was not the first time filming for Top Gear caused serious injuries – both Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson have previously told of awful crashes which has seen them need urgent medical attention while filming the BBC show.
In the aftermath of the accident, Freddie’s wife Rachael reportedly begged him to stay off work – perhaps influencing his decision to return to the relatively gentle world of cricket, as opposed to the increasingly daring lifestyle he lived before his crash.
A source told the Sun: ‘As a loving husband and dad he understands the fear his family feel about what’s happened, knowing that he could have been killed. He is determined to resume his TV work at some point though.
It was not the first time filming for Top Gear caused serious injuries – both Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson have told of crashes which has seen them need urgent medical attention
‘That’s why this decision will be a painful one for Freddie, but he knows that, for now at least, there are more important things in life.’
And Freddie’s son Rocky seems to be following his father’s cricket footsteps after he hit a superb century for England’s Under-19s on day three of their second unofficial Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The teenage player, 16, converted his overnight 82 into three figures off 176 balls before being dismissed five deliveries later for 106.
Rocky signed his first professional contract at Lancashire last month, having made a ton for the second team, while he also hit a match-winning 106 to help England Under-19s beat a Young Lions Invitational XI at Loughborough.
At just 16 years of age, Rocky has become the youngest player to hit a century for the England U19s.
He will be eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, with Andrew having played 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and seven T20s across a glittering career.
The all-rounder, whose England career spanned between 1999 and 2009, was integral to England’s historic Ashes against Australia in 2005.
