BRAVE Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has been pictured smiling as it is revealed he could get a huge role with England cricket team.
As Top Gear future remains in doubt, the England legend could be on track to land a bigger job with the national team.
Freddie Flintoff was pictures at the Oval following his Top Gear smashReuters
ReutersHe took part in net sessions at the cricket ground[/caption]
ReutersHe helped cricketers warm up before the final match[/caption]
Flintoff, 45, was pictured assisting the team as an unpaid mentor while they trained ahead of the One Day International final match against New Zealand at the Kia Oval.
The athlete was back with the England set-up in a first outing since since he narrowly escaped death in a 130mph smash while filming Top Gear.
But after the disastrous accident that left him severely injured, the former cricketer could now make a huge career move.
According to Flintoff’s former Lancashire coach David Lloyd, the sports man was in talks with England men’s cricket managing director and long-time friend Rob Key.
He said: “I would get texts from Keysie when I was at a game with just two words in them, ‘Fred’s here’.
“Then I would try to get to where he was for a chat. Andrew was sitting there with Key in a room in the media centre at Old Trafford about ten yards from the world’s press.
“They had no idea. He arrived with a hat and scarf on and didn’t want to be seen.”
Andrew was previously invited by Key to spend time to discuss a potential offer to work with England’s under-19s.
Lloyd added that Flintoff is currently in good spirits after six months of recuperation at home in Cheshire and he seems to be thinking about getting back to work.
As the future of Top Gear remains uncertain after the series was immediately suspended, the athlete could restart his career in cricket.
Lloyd said: “He rang me both before and after his accident to ask my advice on getting back into cricket.
“He was under sedation one time he rang, but I told him it was a terrific idea.
“And Rob Key is absolutely the best man to drive it. Those two are incredibly close.”
Flintoff’s retirement as a successful international player came in 2009 after a knee injury at the age of 31.
Since then, he made brief comebacks in Twenty20 cricket for Lancashire and Brisbane Heat.
But he eventually walked away from the game to work in television, featuring in Top Gear and League of Their Own.
He made a documentary series for the BBC last year, Field of Dreams, in which he recruited a team of working-class players who were new to the game from his home town of Preston.
The show remained on ice after a roofless high-speed three-wheel car Freddie was driving flipped and slid along a track.
It comes as Freddie was previously snapped at taking part in net sessions.
His trademark smile as he helped Jofra Archer practice bowling is a world away from Freddie’s summer, as he shielded from the public eye.
TalkTV host Piers Morgan told how the cricketer watched England’s performance in secret during The Ashes in Australia.
ReutersFreddie has not confirm whether he will return to the show[/caption]