Flintoff on Hundred fast track but return raises awkward questions

There was no smoke on the water, but Andrew Flintoff's emergence from Headingley's home dressing room in deep purple training kit on Thursday marked the start of a new chapter in his career. On Friday night, Flintoff will sit in the dugout as a head coach for the first time in his new role with Northern Superchargers, the Leeds-based Hundred team.

It is not a natural fit: Flintoff's name has been associated with Lancashire since he was nine years old, and continues to be through his sons Rocky and Corey, who have played for their 2nd XI this summer. As PCA president, he criticised plans for a franchise-style competition like the Hundred, citing his "real pride" representing his county; he used to joke that the best thing about Yorkshire was "the M62, back to Lancashire".

His new team, Superchargers, lost their final five games last year to finished bottom in the men's Hundred. The team's board - along with Marcus North, their head of cricket - announced in mid-November that James Foster would not have his contract as head coach renewed. Five days later, Flintoff was announced as his successor, with his old Lancashire team-mate Kyle Hogg acting as his assistant.

There is one huge reason why the details of his appointment might seem trivial. Flintoff's return to the professional game comes after he was involved in a horrific car crash in December 2022 while filming an episode of Top Gear. He spent nine months out of public life after suffering terrible injuries: he said last year that these had been among "the hardest times" of his life, but cricket has helped him through them.

He had already started to come back to the sport, not least through the BBC series Field of Dreams. The show saw him return home to Preston, assemble an unlikely team of teenagers and introduce them to cricket. It changed lives, most obviously of Adnan Miakhel, an Afghan refugee who now studies at Rossall School on a sports scholarship and plays for Lancashire's Under-18s.

But Flintoff's appointment to a plum job in the Hundred still came as a surprise. At the time, his only senior coaching experience was a month in an informal role with England's white-ball teams. He has since worked as a consultant coach on a tour to the Caribbean, a home series against Pakistan and at the T20 World Cup, and with the Lions on a camp in the UAE.

And his fast-tracking raises awkward questions about recruitment processes: the Superchargers role was not publicly advertised, and Flintoff was the only candidate. It is common in sport for teams to make direct appointments, but even the English FA published a job advert for Gareth Southgate's successor as England football manager last week.

For the last four years, the ECB's inclusion and diversity strategy has recommended the adoption of the Rooney Rule to ensure that non-white candidates are interviewed for major roles. It is a recommendation rather than a regulation but one that the Superchargers did not follow, opting against an open process and approaching Flintoff directly.

Flintoff also has close relationships with two of the most influential men at the ECB: men's managing director Rob Key, a friend and former team-mate, and chairman Richard Thompson, who is also chair of M&C Saatchi Merlin, the talent agency who have represented Flintoff for more than a decade. It was Key who helped him back to public life and to the game last summer, though there is no indication that either was involved in the process.

Naturally, there are compelling reasons that Flintoff might be seen as an exception to most rules. There is a huge sense of empathy towards him after his near-death experience, which resulted in broken ribs and severe facial injuries which he spent months covering up when in public. His legal team described them as "life-altering", and agreed a reported multi-million pound settlement with the BBC.

And Flintoff remains one of very few cricketers who could legitimately be described as a household name in the UK. At a time when it is struggling to stay relevant - not least in a low-key Test summer, which is competing with Euro 2024 and the Olympics - the sport is understandably desperate for him to turn his early forays as a coach into a long-term career.

"After a review of last year, it was identified that we wanted to appoint a new men's head coach," a spokesperson for the Superchargers board told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday. "It was identified by the Northern Superchargers board that we wanted an inspirational figure with leadership qualities who would be able to excite fans, players, staff and media.

"Andrew Flintoff was our first choice to become the new men's head coach, and when it became clear that it was an opportunity he wanted to pursue, we moved to contracting. We are very excited to have appointed a young English coach with the pedigree and stature of Andrew Flintoff, and we're excited about what he can bring to Northern Superchargers this season."

The ECB declined to comment, and indicated that Hundred team boards are fully responsible for recruitment. A spokesperson emphasised that the process for hiring Flintoff was not unique. Since the Hundred's first season, there have been four changes of men's head coach across the eight teams: two were publicly advertised and two were direct appointments.

And the Hundred may prove a good place to start. Flintoff is managing a squad who will earn £1 million between them over the next month, but the competition is low-stakes and low-scrutiny: there will hardly be Superchargers fans demanding he is sacked if it goes badly. There are minimal media expectations compared to most jobs, to the extent he has declined to speak to any independent outlets.

He is the only English head coach in the men's competition and perhaps it is no surprise that he has been fast-tracked. Flintoff is an icon to most current players, who grew up watching him star in the 2005 Ashes: if anyone can succeed as a coach relying on vibes alone, it might well be him. Regardless, it is surely a frustration to other young coaches that they did not even have the chance to interview.

"If you could design the perfect head coach development programme… Flintoff is going on a brilliant journey," Key told the Telegraph earlier this year. "[He is getting] relevant experience, much more than sitting on a Zoom call listening to someone tell you what to do." That is undeniably true - but those opportunities do not present themselves to everyone.

The early indications are that Flintoff intends to be a hands-off coach. Harry Brook, who will take over from Matthew Short as captain after England's Test against West Indies, said this week that they would try to create a "fairly chilled" atmosphere: "I think we've said that all training will be optional… just be chilled, relaxed, go out there and express yourself and play."

Superchargers will be light on resources this week, with Brook and Ben Stokes with England's Test squad, Mitchell Santner at Major League Cricket, and Reece Topley at least a week away from selection with a finger injury. They should get stronger soon, but Friday's opener against Trent Rockets could be a challenging start with a threadbare squad.

There has been speculation swirling around Matthew Mott's future as England's white-ball coach and Flintoff has been mentioned prominently as a potential successor. At this stage, it seems too early for a man who has never coached a professional team - but the next four weeks should give an indication as to just how much that matters.