Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed the surprising reason behind his departure from Northern Superchargers after two seasons as head coach.
The former England all-rounder was seen as a left-field appointment when he took charge of the Headingley-based Hundred franchise, as it marked his first full-time, first-team coaching role.
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It followed a brief stint with the England men’s backroom staff, part of his return to public life after a life-threatening accident on the set of the BBC’s Top Gear in December 2022.
After the Superchargers had finished bottom of the standings the previous year, Flintoff oversaw an immediate improvement, guiding them to fourth place in 2024 and into the Eliminator this summer.
Now 47, Flintoff has revealed that he discussions with the Superchargers’ new owners, the Sun Group – who acquired 100 per cent ownership of the franchise amid a wave of new investment in the competition – but ultimately turned down their offer to continue.
Speaking to the Beard Before Wicket podcast, Flintoff said: ‘They phoned me up saying they wanted me to do it (continue in the role) and I said “yeah, fine, make me an offer”.
The former England all-rounder was seen as a left-field appointment when he took charge of the Headingley-based Hundred franchise, as it marked his first full-time, first-team role
Flintoff is also head coach of England’s development side, the Lions, and his work with the Superchargers – alongside England white-ball captain Harry Brook – earned praise
‘And I genuinely don’t do it for the money, but I think I’m worth more than just over a quarter (of the salary) of the other head coaches.
‘The money was one thing – I’m not quite sure they want me anyway – but then also you want to feel valued. So I said that it’s not going to work for me and then they weren’t going to move on it so unfortunately, I’m not going to do it.’
Flintoff is also head coach of England’s development side, the Lions, and his work with the Superchargers – alongside England white-ball captain Harry Brook – earned praise as well as boosting the visibility of the tournament.
‘It is sad because the last two years I felt we were building to somewhere really nice, and I would’ve loved to have seen it through.’
Rashid, one of the team’s marquee players, responded by telling Flintoff: ‘You’ll be missed. I wasn’t expecting that.’
Yorkshire were the only county to sell their entire stake in their Hundred franchise earlier this year. The team is now expected to rebrand under the Sunrisers name, in line with their IPL and SA20 counterparts.
