Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff will not be part of the backroom staff for England’s forthcoming white-ball series against Australia. This comes on the back of the green signal given to stand-in white-ball coach Marcus Trescothick to bring out his selective coaching team. Flintoff, a centric figure in the legendary 2005 Ashes victory of the England XI, has worked with the national team over the last year—a lot of it as a consultant.
These include his important stint as the assistant coach during the T20 World Cup this June. Though blessed with the reputation of a fabulous playing career and coaching prospect, Flintoff’s association with England has been more of a short-term nature rather than flowering into a full-time job. His first real coaching assignment came up with Northern Superchargers in The Hundred for which he did a fine job.
In the seven games he was at the helm of the side, they managed to win five, and in two games, they got left out of the playoffs narrowly. His leadership once again revealed the coach in him, but again it displayed how transitory all his contracts become.
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The overriding factor in Flintoff’s exit as an England coach probably was his rapport with white-ball captain Jos Buttler. It is rumoured that Flintoff and Buttler didn’t quite click, and Flintoff is said to have left the job because of this reason. In contrast, Buttler gets along well enough with Trescothick, now a former workmate and teammate from Somerset.
Andrew Flintoff leaves England coaching setup after Jos Buttler clash
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Marcus Trescothick has been the one who has done most of the development of Buttler in his batting, and he looks to be the prime candidate who will be drafted into the ranks to shape the future along with him taking over.
Flintoff has been taking small steps to get back to cricket since his car crash in December 2022. He started by scouting for players and then with youth teams. On his return, Flintoff said how lucky he was to be playing cricket. He continued to say that many players should be lucky and enjoy playing on the field.
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“Cricket’s given me so much. It’s all I ever wanted to do as a kid, and I genuinely feel so lucky to be back here after all these years,” said Flintoff. “You get caught up in playing, and before you know it, it’s gone. So, take time when you are out there, look around, and live in the moment.
