Sunday, December 22, 2024

Andrew Flintoff’s son Rocky blasts century in debut for England under-19s

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Freddie Flintoff’s son Rocky hit a stunning 106 on his England U19s debut earlier this week.

The prodigious talent, 16, is keen to follow in his father’s footsteps as a cricket superstar for his country.

And he kicked things off in phenomenal fashion against a Young Lions Invitational XI.

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Rocky came to the crease with England languishing on 52-4 having lost their two openers in the first five overs.

Chasing 288, he then put on an 81-run partnership with Charlie Allison.

And when Rocky, who plays for Lancashire, was eventually dismissed for a superb 106 he had reeled off eight fours and three sixes from just 111 balls.

England needed just 14 runs to secure victory when Flintoff Jr left the middle.

Harry Moore and Tazeem Ali then stepped up to seal the win by two wickets.

Rocky’s mum Rachael was at the match, but dad Freddie was unable to attend as he is coaching the England team at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Archie Vaughan, the son of Flintoff Sr’s old England teammate Michael, hit 85 off 83 balls for the Lions.

Vaughan also claimed two wickets but could not save his side from slipping to a defeat.

It was a warm-up for England’s three-match series against Sri Lanka which begins in Chelmsford on Friday.

And the team features a number of other sons whose dads had international careers.

Well done young man. Photo by David Rogers/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Just like dad. Photo: Phil Hillyard.Source: News Corp Australia

Captain Luc Benkenstein is the son of ex-South Africa batsman Dale, while wicketkeeper Haydon Mustard has former England man Phil for a dad.

Rehan Ahmed’s younger brother Farhan is also on the team.

Rocky was selected for England after hitting a century against Warwickshire for Lancashire’s 2nd XI in April.

In the match, he played alongside older brother Corey, 18.

Earlier this month, after signing a professional deal with Lancashire – his dad’s old club – he said: “I’m very happy. It’s something that I’ve been working towards since I started playing cricket, so to sign for my home county is a dream come true.

“I’ve been with the club since I was 8 years old, so to have the opportunity to keep representing the Red Rose is a big honour.

“I have loved playing for the Second XI so far this season and I’m looking forward to continuing to work hard on all aspects of my game.”

One of England’s great all-rounders, Flintoff Sr scored 3,845 runs and picked up 226 wickets in 79 Tests for his country.

The colourful character, who retired from international cricket in 2009, is best-known for inspiring England to victory in the 2005 Ashes as they reclaimed the urn for the first time in 16 years.

Flintoff 2.0 is coming. Photo by David Rogers/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Since putting down the bat, Flintoff has become a regular on A League Of Their Own and was a host on Top Gear.

But he has endured months of agony recovering from his crash on the show – which left him with “life-altering” injuries, including scars on his face.

He has defied the odds to take on multiple coaching roles in cricket, including with England’s senior team and The Hundred.

The Sun exclusively revealed Flintoff would return to the screen for a third season of his hit show Field Of Dreams.

Freddie recently wrapped filming series two in India, which could air later this year or early in 2025.

Then he will find another group of wannabe cricketers to star in the third outing, expected to shoot later this year and air in 2026.

This story first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission.

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