Flintoff appointed England Lions head coach

LONDON: Andrew Flintoff´s cricket coaching career took another step forward Saturday when he was put in charge of the England Lions, the national ´A´ side.

The former England captain has returned to cricket during the past year after a horrific car crash while he filmed for the BBC´s Top Gear television programme at the end of 2022. He served as an England assistant coach during this year´s T20 World Cup and oversaw the Northern Superchargers in the most recent edition of English domestic cricket´s Hundred competition.

The 46-year-old former all-rounder is currently with the Test side at the Oval for this week´s series finale against Sri Lanka, standing in for batting coach Marcus Trescothick, and he has now agreed to take over the second-string Lions for the next four series.

The aim of the Lions is to develop emerging talent for the senior squad, with Flintoff signing up for tours of South Africa and Australia as well as home fixtures against India A and Zimbabwe.