New footage of Freddie Flintoff has been launched, with the clip displaying the cricket icon talking in public for the primary time since he was concerned in a near-fatal accident whereas filming for Top Gear final December. The 45-year-old has returned to the cricket scene to work with the England ODI squad.

Flintoff grew to become a Top Gear presenter in 2019 alongside Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris. But 4 years into the function, he was concerned in a 130mph crash at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey after his three-wheeled open-top automotive, which didn’t have airbags, flipped over. The accident was stated to have practically killed Flintoff, with the blockbuster star spending 5 weeks in hospital.

Flintoff returned to the cricket pitch firstly of September as he labored with Three Lions gamers throughout their one-day worldwide in opposition to New Zealand at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. And he has joined the workforce in an unpaid consultancy function ever since.

Flintoff was available to current Tom Hartley together with his first ODI cap forward of the match with Ireland final month. And England Cricket have now launched a clip of the emotional speech the previous all-rounder made as he addressed the 24-year-old.

“It gives me so much pleasure to share what’s going to be a day, Tom, that you’re going to remember for the rest of your life,” Flintoff started. “Your journey hasn’t been like a lot of people’s. There was no academies, no systems but to me [that] suggests a steeliness, a determination, a passion which might not be evident on the outside but it’s definitely burning inside.

“When you get this cap it changes your life. It’s one of those things, it’s before and after it. This enables you to walk tall and move faster. Play with passion, play with pride, play with belief. And also a part of a family of people.

“They’ll share the good times with you, the successes. But as I found over the past few months, they’ll be there in the hardest times of your life, they will stand next to you. So like the lion on the cap Tom, be brave, be fearless, be proud and enjoy every minute. It gives me great pleasure to present cap number 272 to Tom Hartley.”

Following Flintoff’s accident, filming of Top Gear was suspended, and it’s unknown whether or not the sequence will ever resume. “Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time,” the BBC stated in a press release in March.

“We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgment about how best to continue later this year. This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support. Finally there will be a health and safety review of the show, in line with our procedures.”