Add Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams: Ultimate Test to your watchlist
With the Women’s Cricket World Cup taking place in Sri Lanka and India in October, and England among the favourites to win, it’s no surprise that cricketing legend Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff wanted to include a girls’ team in the latest series of Field of Dreams, the show in which Flintoff recruits young people for a cricket team and changes their lives along the way.
As always, Flintoff hasn’t made life easy for himself, going to communities where cricket is virtually unknown to find players. Not only that, he’s never coached young women before, and he’s also head coach of the England Lions, developing emerging talent for the men’s national side, which means he’s rather busy.
So he has drafted in England and Lancashire bowler Kate Cross, to give him a hand and offer a bit of insight. “Crossy” knew Flintoff from afar as a fellow Lancashire player. “Fred texted me, said he had never coached girls and could I help out,” she says. “By the way, this is my hero! He was my role model! So there was no chance I would say no.”
While Flintoff goes to shape two groups of lads into viable cricket squads for his new league, Cross heads to South Shore Cricket Club in Blackpool to work with girls for whom team sport of any kind is a new endeavour. Despite being deeply committed to the game and the viability of the women’s sport, this still presented a challenge to the energetic Cross: could she coach 11 teenage girls, most of whom had never thrown a cricket ball?
“Historically, cricket was only available in private schools, but what this series is trying to show is that all you need is a bat and a ball. You can play it on the beach or in the street. And so we went into a community where cricket isn’t the norm,” she says.
“Team sport was a huge part of my upbringing because I grew up in a very sporty family,” adds Cross, whose father David played for West Ham and was in the team when the Hammers won the FA Cup in 1980. “My journey began by playing in the back garden with my brothers; the biggest influence on me was Heywood Cricket Club, my local club [near Rochdale].”
While Cross has been overlooked for the England squad for the World Cup – an omission she has said, on her podcast, “feels savage” – she is a trailblazer nonetheless. She was the first woman to play for the Central Lancashire League in its 123-year history, playing for Heywood at the age of 23 and taking eight wickets in a men’s league match. She confesses that her experience with her Blackpool charges wasn’t straightforward. “I would leave a session so tired and frustrated. They were trying a sport they had never known.” The first episode of Field of Dreams shows Cross and Flintoff managing an introductory session. There are some funny moments. “I see why my mum fancies Freddie,” admits one of the girls candidly. “What if I break my nails?” wails another, waving her hands at Flintoff. “Ever got the sense you’re out of your depth?” he murmurs. But once the team realises TikTok can also be worked in around training, everyone relaxes.
Cross also noticed something more fundamental about her team. “They were constantly putting themselves down. When you told them they’d done something well, they didn’t believe you. You wanted them to have fun. These girls were carrying things that 13- to 15-year-olds shouldn’t be carrying. Social media stands out at the centre of all this,” she says. “And none of it is real. People show the best parts of their lives, they don’t show reality. The pressure these young girls are under to look and act a certain way. There is so much pressure to be perfect.”
Flintoff doesn’t hold back anything, particularly about his accident in 2022 while filming Top Gear. He is clearly greatly recovered, but it has changed him. “He has spoken very candidly about his accident,” says Cross, “and what this series shows is that cricket has given him something back, and helps him manage. It’s a by-product of the sport.” While the show can change the lives of the young people involved, it’s potentially a demanding voyage for Flintoff and his ego. “Are you from Top Gear, then?” asks one of the girls. “I used to be, but then this happened,” says Freddie, gesturing to his scarred face. “So I’ve gone back to cricket. It’s a bit safer,” he deadpans. “Why do you want to teach cricket?” she persists. “Why? Because I was a cricketer. I played for England,” says Freddie Flintoff MBE, one of the sport’s greatest all rounders. “Oh, did ya?” she says. Flintoff, who played 79 Tests for England, can’t help but laugh.
The series shows Flintoff ’s humour and humanity, but it also introduces Cross as a warm and committed presence in the girls’ squad. “Getting to know the girls was the best thing. I had a genuine sense of fulfilment seeing someone mastering a skill. By the end of the training sessions you’re seeing the best parts of their personalities. We had 10 girls who came consistently to training. They became this friendship group. They knew they could have fun. I’m hopeful that they remain friends.”
After the final episode was shot, Cross invited them to see her play in a professional game. Was she nervous? “No! It was great to see them there. And it was nice for them to see that I was OK at cricket.” How did she do in front of her charges? “I can’t really remember! Hopefully I picked up a wicket or two!”
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