Latest news with #AndrewFlintoff
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Brydon Carse interview: I am well up for a fight in Australia
For Brydon Carse to admit England have been 'too nice' in the past sends one clear message to the Australians: they will not be this winter. England have had their issues in the face of Australian aggression Down Under. They have not won a Test match in Australia since 2010-11, and in the 21st century have only won four out of 25 - yet an Ashes series in Australia is still the yardstick by which any national side is judged. When Ollie Robinson said he wanted to emulate Andrew Flintoff and get under the Australians' skin four years ago, he ended up on the wrong side of history with his fitness publicly questioned. This time, Carse's promise of taking the fight to the opposition is being echoed by those around him, and it might have Australia concerned. 'I think a couple of England sides can sometimes come across as too nice and we actually spoke about that as a group,' Carse told Telegraph Sport during the eight-day break between a fiery Test against India at Lord's and the fourth one at Old Trafford. 'There's a lot of times when you play against sides as an opposition and they get stuck into us and we kind of sit back and don't get involved too much. 'So I think - and again going back to [Lord's] and to the latter part of that game - moving forwards it will certainly be something that we remember as a group going into an away Ashes tour where no doubt there will be some tough moments out there. 'But we will definitely not take a backwards step to the Aussies.' The words of battle are far too readily reached for when it comes to Ashes cricket, but in 2017 Nathan Lyon expressed his hope that Australia would 'end the careers' of some of the English players. 'Bazball' England have not said anything as dramatic, but there is a pack mentality they could harness. 'One thing we spoke about was when you're out there fielding and bowling at the opposition, there's 11 of us out there and there's two of them,' Carse, a brand ambassador for Step One, explained. 'Sometimes I think most sides around the world, you have a chance to create a presence as a full team out there, so why would you not create that atmosphere of 'you're taking on not just one bowler but 11 guys on that field'.' Carse is a key part of the side, and one for whom a laid-back nature off the field does not necessarily have to translate to one on it. 'I think it's just that competitive edge that I have when I get out there, I wouldn't really call it red mist, ' he said. 'Wanting to win the battle of whatever situation I'm in at the time, and I know I've got the full support of the 10 other blokes on the field with me.' Against India at Lord's, England had to show a nasty streak to take the series lead, including send-offs and a tangle between Carse and Ravindra Jadeja, but all while maintaining respect. 'I enjoy the battle, I'm always up for it,' Carse explained. 'I'm never going to take a backwards step and I think it showed in the second part of this game when us as a side all come together and back each other up. It's a pretty cool atmosphere to play in and to be around.' One of the things England will need to be competitive in Australia is one of their biggest problems, the fitness of their fast-bowling contingent. While Jofra Archer has had elbow and hand problems, Mark Wood a knee issue, and Gus Atkinson a hamstring injury, for Carse his biggest problem is his feet. An intense winter that started with the rock-hard pitches of Pakistan and then a three-Test series against New Zealand caused severe cuts on the second toe of Carse's foot which then became infected. He was ruled out for months and even considered amputation, before reconsidering given the effect it could have on his balance. The boots at the time were an issue, but Carse is not alone in fast bowlers for having to cut two holes in his left landing boot - Derek Pringle also made holes in his spikes and it is a remedy that has been employed for decades. Now, equipped with new boots and new insoles, Carse is in a much better place. 'My toes are okay, they're good,' he said with a chuckle. 'I enjoy the battle, I'm always up for it. I'm never going to take a backwards step and I think it showed in the second part of this game when us as a side all come together and back each other up. It's a pretty cool atmosphere to play in and to be around.' Flying through boots though if anything, is an understatement. 'I was pretty good this game [Lord's],' he said. 'I started this game with two new pairs and I finished the game with the same two new pairs. 'But the first couple of games I think I went through six or seven pairs of boots over two weeks, so it wasn't ideal.' A bowler puts eight times their bodyweight through their front leg and foot every time they bowl at full pace, something that cannot easily be replicated. But England will have to hope that for their fast-bowling contingent to be at full strength, Carse's foot holds up - even if he might need to take five pairs to every Test venue.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
The Ashes 2005 Was The Time When Cricket Became The New Football
England cricketers Andrew Flintoff with daughter Holly, Kevin Pietersen (C) and Michael Vaughan (R) ... More celebrates winning the Ashes on the team bus during the Ashes victory parade in London, 13 September, 2005. England regained the Ashes yesterday after drawing the final Test match and winning the series 2-1. AFP PHOTO/GARETH COPLEY/WPA POOL/PA (Photo by GARETH COPLEY / AFP) (Photo by GARETH COPLEY/AFP via Getty Images) The Ashes is one of the longest-running sports tussles in the world and will kick off for its 74th edition at Perth this November. The drama of the current series between India and England is stirring memories of the memorable 2005 Ashes when, after 18 years of humiliation at home and abroad, England finally reclaimed the famous urn from Australia with a 2-1 victory. For one golden English summer, cricket was the head of class in national sport. Michael Vaughan's winning team paraded through a 25,000-strong crowd in Trafalgar Square on top of a double-decker bus in a celebration usually reserved for all-conquering football teams or the World Cup rugby-winning heroes of 2003. In the deciding match of the 2005 Ashes at the Oval, tickets were selling for over £1,000 each while a penthouse flat with a view of the ground was taken on a five-day let for 20 times that price. Test cricket had never been this compelling since Ian Botham's 1981 heroics. He was the original 'rock star' that Ben Stokes wants England's Bazball squad to be now. On the pitch, there were A-list stars aplenty in the 2005 Ashes. The late, great Shane Warne took 40 wickets, the South African-born, skunk-haired Kevin Pietersen announced himself with a thrilling array of shots, and Andrew Flintoff performed magic with both bat and ball to help England over the line. 'Cricket, played like this, could stand on its own two feet. Indeed, it was variously the new football, the new rock'n'roll, the new everything,' said ESPNcricinfo. The market conditions for a glorious summer were there in England. There was no competition from an international or European soccer tournament or an Olympic year. The team had risen from the nadir of being bottom of the Test rankings in 1999 to second having won 14 of their previous 18 Tests. Fast bowler Simon Jones said that the team 'felt like Premier League footballers." When the EPL kicked off, it was in the middle of a brilliant third Test at Old Trafford, where 10,000 people were locked out on the final day to see a thrilling finish. Manchester United's "Theatre of Dreams could not have been more passionate. Crucially, Channel Four's free-to-air coverage, hosted by the ubiquitous Mark Nicholas allied with the expert delivery of Richie Benaud, Tony Greig, Michael Slater and Mike Atherton, cut through with a peak audience of 8.2 million. An estimated 22 million people in the United Kingdom watched at least 30 minutes of cricket during that summer. A year later, the 2006 series between England and Sri Lanka was the first episode of a new four-year, £220m Sky Sports deal with the ECB (English Cricket Board), giving the station exclusive live rights to all home Test matches and one-day internationals. The 2005 Ashes zeitgeist moment had passed. Live access was reduced to subscription although highlights were still available for free-to-air. 'On average, it is fair to say that Sky's audiences are running at around one sixth of those on Channel 4 - precisely what critics of the deal feared and the game's administrators ignored,' said the 2007 Wisden Cricketer's Almanack. LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 14: Harry Brook of England shakes hands with Mohammed Siraj of India after ... More Day Five of the 3rd Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Lord's Cricket Ground on July 14, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by) Yet when Test cricket had the general public in the palm of its hand 20 years ago, the ball was slipped to the highest bidder to futureproof the grassroots of the game. The Lord's Test match between England and India showed what a magical game the five-day format can be with two teams going at each other with bat, ball and words. It deserves a bigger audience, a bigger narrative and exposure of new stars. Then again, there was something about 2005's age of innocence that had a reach difficult to recapture, that sense of a new, bold team against a brilliant, but ageing side in a nascent digital age that was just gaining traction. The cricket Test match cake is shared unequally between partners, with only the Big Three of India, Australia and England attracting broadcasters, sponsorships and ticket sales when playing among themselves. For the rest, it's a loss-making business. World Test champions South Africa have no home Tests until October 2026. Cricket South Africa simply can't fill the stadiums, and it's a similar story with the West Indies who were just shot out for 27 in front of a sparse crowd in Sabina Park. The ICC is now reportedly looking into a tw0-tier system of promotion and relegation in the next cycle of the World Test Championship. The glory of playing for a country is being challenged by the new money that T20 cricket brings. The IPL is cricket's richest franchise league, worth a cool $12 billion. Cricketers are globetrotters now with over 20 such leagues like the BBL, PSL, and Major League Cricket in the States offering the kind of remuneration that is beyond national cricket boards. The Hundred, English cricket's spin on the IPL, has now taken over the whole of August, a month where Pietersen, Strauss, Flintoff and company once wore the whites in front of a captivated households. Nothing ever stays the same, but the Ashes 2005 will forever be 'the greatest series' to many who saw what a box set drama Test cricket can still be.
CNA
15-07-2025
- Sport
- CNA
Anderson and Rocky Flintoff picked as wildcards for The Hundred
Former England fast bowler James Anderson and Rocky Flintoff, son of former England all-rounder Andrew, have been selected as wildcard picks for The Hundred 2025, the league announced on Tuesday. Anderson, 42, who retired from international duty in July last year, was initially overlooked in The Hundred draft but secured his place with Manchester Originals during the wildcard selections. Meanwhile, 17-year-old Rocky will join Northern Superchargers under the coaching of his father, Andrew Flintoff. Both were among the 32 players drafted in the wildcard selections for the fifth season, which begins on August 5. Anderson returned to T20 cricket this year after an 11-year hiatus, claiming 14 wickets in eight matches for Lancashire in the T20 Blast. "I'm really looking forward to The Hundred, and I'm really happy to be part of the Manchester Originals squad. I've loved my time with Lancashire this season, so I'm excited to have the opportunity to add value in The Hundred," Anderson said. "It's a competition I've really enjoyed watching. When you're at the games you can really see that it does attract a slightly different crowd, a lot of younger people and families, and you can't underestimate how important that is for our game. "I can't wait to get out there." If Anderson plays this season, he will become the second-oldest player in the competition's history, trailing only Imran Tahir, who played at 43 years and 149 days in 2022. Anderson joins a Manchester Originals squad that includes Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, as well as overseas players Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad, and Rachin Ravindra.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- BBC News
Death of teenager from Flintoff cricket show an 'utter tragedy'
A teenager who appeared in former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff's BBC television show Field of Dreams was driving at more than twice the speed limit when he died following a crash, an inquest has Mahmood, 18, was driving an Audi A3 Sport when it left the road and hit trees on Chain Caul Way in Preston, Lancashire, at about 22:55 BST on 10 September 2024. Adam Bodi, 16, was also fatally injured in the crash while the other passenger, 17 at the time, was seriously Kate Bissett said the teenagers' deaths had been caused by "a terrible misjudgement" and were an "utter tragedy". Preston Coroner's Court was told their car was travelling at approximately 80mph (129 km/h) in a 30mph (48 km/h) zone before it left the road and struck two Bodi died in hospital on 11 September while Mr Mahmood died the following Mahmood was one of a group of young cricketers from Lancashire who featured in the BBC former school, Penwortham Priory Academy, described him as "bright, studious and well-loved".Field of Dreams saw former England all-rounder Flintoff, who is from Preston, visit under-privileged parts of Lancashire to find and build a team of 11 teenagers who had never previously considered playing in July 2022 about his involvement in the show, Mr Mahmood described Flintoff as "really down to earth". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Youngster Rew signs Somserset contract
England Under-19s captain Thomas Rew has signed his first professional contract with 17-year-old scored 131 from 89 balls against India Under-19s earlier this week and put on 123 in 128 balls with Rocky Flintoff, the son of England legend who made his debut for the county in the T20 Blast, has signed a deal until October 2027, which will see him continue his education this said, external: "I'm delighted to be signing this contract with Somerset. "I've worked hard to achieve this goal over the last few years and I'm very grateful for all the work that Somerset's age group and academy coaches have put into my game since l joined the pathway at Under-10s."I look forward to training with the squad and coaches over the winter and then I aim to work hard to earn a first-team place and contribute as much as possible in all three formats."Rew's older brother James is a regular for Somerset and has already scored 10 first-class hundreds.
