Flintoff to fill in for Trescothick prior to the third Test at The Oval

Andrew Flintoff has been roped in again to help the England senior men’s setup after he worked as a consultant with the side for a year. He will work with the English batters before the third Test against Sri Lanka, starting at The Oval on September 6. 

According to a report by ESPNCricinfo, Flintoff will be filling in for his former England teammate Marcus Trescothick, who has been appointed England's interim white ball head coach. He will also take a break from his Test team duties before the third Test. 

England have been in search of a white-ball head coach ever since Matthew Mott was removed from his position after two consecutive poor performances in the 2023 ODI and the 2024 T20I World Cups. 

Former England captain Flintoff has been involved with the England coaching setup since September 2023, but he recently parted ways with the Three Lions. 

According to The Telegraph, Flintoff did not enjoy the greatest of relationships with white-ball skipper Jos Buttler, who, in contrast, is pretty close with Trescothick due to the pair’s Somerset connection.

"Jos Buttler, who is continuing as England white-ball captain after the sacking of Matthew Mott, is not believed to have gelled particularly with Flintoff during the T20 World Cup in June,” the report claimed. 

Buttler has a strong rapport with Trescothick, with the two playing together at Somerset when he was breaking into the professional game. Buttler has often worked on his batting with Trescothick.”

It’s been a couple of years of rebuilding for Flintoff, who in December 2022 suffered a horror car crash during the filming of an episode of the BBC show Top Gear.

He was England’s assistant coach in the T20 World Cup 2024 and also coached the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred this season. It was his first-ever job as a full-time coach. Flintoff’s side enjoyed a pretty successful campaign, winning five of the eight matches they played, losing just two, narrowly missing out on playoff qualification.

Meanwhile, Trescothick will be linking up with the England side before the first T20I against Australia on September 11. However, he is still undecided about applying for the full-time coach role. 

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