Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2023

41 been sold off and a lack of investment has meant cricket has largely disappeared from state schools. Unrepresentative In a recent England team, 9 out of the 11 were privately educated. That is 82% of a team representing a country where only 7% attend fee- paying schools. In addition, the removal of cricket from free-to- watch TV has further insulated the game away from ordinary people. The decision to put cricket behind a pay-wall was great news for a few and a complete disaster for the rest. This was the worst decision ever made by English Cricket, and no amount of expensive marketing or new formats like The Hundred can breach the gap created. Flintoff ’s Field of Dreams And it is into this space that former England all- rounder, Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff (who some may know better from Top Gear) stepped with an inspiring new TV show ‘Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams’. The programme followed Flintoff’s efforts to engage kids from his home town of Preston, Lancashire, to take up cricket. He went to schools, streets and youth clubs and finds whole rooms of children who cannot name one player in the England team. Names like Joe Root or James Anderson meant nothing to them. In the past, cricket has been popular in these communities but now it’s just seen as a posh game for rich kids. Freddie forged a team out of boys who have never played, some of whom had been excluded from school, been homeless and been asylum seekers. It was genuinely uplifting, moving and inspiring. First-hand I know first-hand how much state-school children can love cricket if they are given the opportunity. I took over managing a junior team at Addiscombe CC who only had 5 players at the time. My sons encouraged school friends from Streatham to join and we forged a make-shift team including many who had never played before. At the start, we got battered frequently and came bottom of the league for a few seasons. We were also on the receiving end of a fair few snobby comments and entitled attitudes from other clubs. Proudest moment But we had a lot of fun and the team steadily improved. In our final season together, a combination of great performances and luck meant we ended up winning our league. I was gobsmacked. In 35 years of playing cricket, it was my proudest moment by far. Cricket is an amazing game for all young people to be able to play. And just like he did as a player, Freddie Flintoff is setting an inspiring example for others to follow. * With thanks to The Full Toss for permission to reproduce this article