Stuart Broad has backed Freddie Flintoff to inspire the England squad after making his first outing since a horror crash.
Flintoff is currently with the England camp as they take on New Zealand in an ODI series this month.
It is the first time the cricket legend has been seen in public since surviving a shocking crash while filming with BBC show Top Gear.
While driving an open-topped three-wheel Morgan Super 3 car, the vehicle flipped before sliding along the track when he was driving at high speed in December 2022. He suffered broken ribs and facial injuries.
But Flintoff was seen with Ben Stokes and Joe Root at Cardiff during the first ODI match against New Zealand on Friday.
And Broad has opened up over the 45-year-old’s impact within the camp, having also undertaken some training in the nets.
Broady said: “I saw him at Cardiff and I had ten minutes with him. He was in really fine form.
“He’s been doing some work with the England Under-19s, which he really enjoyed and he’d just arrived in Cardiff to settle into this group for this series.
“Freddie Flintoff would have inspired this side back in ’05 and before so he’s an icon of English cricket and a legend of the game.
“So just to be able to spend some time around him and pick his brain and feel the aura he has within the group.
“The opportunity for him to pull on the Three Lions shirt again is really special.”
Filming was suspended at Top Gear after the accident and even after nine months Flintoff’s facial injuries are still prominent. It remains to be seen whether Flintoff will return to the program.
England managing director Rob Key has given Flintoff encouragement over a role within the national set-up.
Flintoff has made a career out of TV work since retiring from cricket in 2015 for a second time and even won the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
He was a team captain on Sky One’s A League Of Their Own, started a series called Flintoff: Lord of the Fries and was also the presenter of ITV’s Cannonball.
But reports have emerged since his accident that he’s ready to return to cricket, particularly coaching youngsters.