Andrew Flintoff has been appointed head coach of the England Lions subsequent yr.
Flintoff will take over the function from October with a schedule that features a tour of South Africa, a red-ball tour of Australia in January and summer time collection towards India A and Zimbabwe on house soil.
In 2024, Flintoff served as England males’s white-ball assistant coach in the course of the T20 World Cup and tour of the West Indies, acted as a guide to the nationwide workforce and was answerable for the Northern Superchargers within the Lots of.
“I am completely delighted to be taking up this function at England Lions. It is a implausible alternative to work with a few of the greatest up-and-comers within the nation and assist form the way forward for males’s soccer,” Flintoff mentioned.
“The Lions program has all the time been an necessary stepping stone for gamers to realize worldwide success, and I’m honored to be part of this journey.
“The way forward for English soccer may be very wholesome. There’s a wealth of expertise rising and I look ahead to serving to these gamers attain their full potential.
“Whether or not these gamers are pushing for England choice or establishing themselves in Lions cricket, I’ve little question that the Lions program will present an actual level of distinction of their growth.
“That is an thrilling time for English cricket and I’m enthusiastic about inspiring the subsequent technology to drive the sport ahead. We have now a powerful basis and I imagine we are able to create one thing really particular.”
Ed Barney, ECB Males’s Efficiency Director, mentioned: “We’re delighted to welcome Andrew Flintoff into this key function. Andrew stands out for his inspirational management, teaching experience and deep understanding of the sport.
“His imaginative and prescient aligns very effectively with the type of play and id developed by the England males’s workforce underneath Brendan McCullum and this appointment brings a really thrilling prospect for the way forward for English cricket.
“The England Lions program is a cornerstone of our cricketing construction and performs a key function in growing the subsequent technology of expertise.
“Beneath Andrew’s steering, gamers with the best potential will proceed to develop, thrive and take their video games to the subsequent degree. I’m assured his affect will resonate all through the British cricket neighborhood and assist drive the sport ahead.” .
Flintoff’s duties embody “efficiency planning, participant growth evaluations with counties, workforce choice and participant evaluation”.
Watch day three of the third and remaining Check match at Lord’s on Saturday 7 September at 10.15am on Sky Sports activities Cricket (First Match, 11am).
Sky Sports activities+ is formally launched and will probably be merged into sky tvStreaming providers Now and Sky Sports Appthis yr Sky Sports activities clients can watch greater than 50% of reside sports activities occasions without spending a dime. Learn more here.