{"id":290357,"date":"2023-09-09T10:34:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T10:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=290357"},"modified":"2023-09-09T10:34:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T10:34:21","slug":"pietersen-and-piers-morgan-welcome-andrew-freddie-flintoff-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/%d1%81ricket\/pietersen-and-piers-morgan-welcome-andrew-freddie-flintoff-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Pietersen and Piers Morgan welcome Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff back"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kevin Pietersen and Piers Morgan were amongst those to welcome Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff back following his return to cricket.<\/p>\n
As exclusively revealed by Mail Sport, on Friday Flintoff was seen for the first time since he was involved in a horror crash at 130mph on BBC’s Top Gear\u00a0nine months ago which almost killed him.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred at Top Gear’s test track at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flintoff’s facial injuries from the crash were visible as he was seen working with the England team ahead of their defeat to New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Pietersen, who was part of England’s Ashes-winning side in 2005 along with Flintoff, was delighted to see his former team-mate back involved in cricket.<\/p>\n
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Kevin Pietersen and Piers Morgan were delighted with Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s return<\/p>\n
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Flintoff made his return to cricket following his near-fatal car crash last December<\/p>\n
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Flintoff’s facial injuries from the crash were visible as he was seen working with the England team\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The 45-year-old was seen working with the England team ahead of the ODI versus New Zealand<\/p>\n
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Flintoff was seen with\u00a0Mark Wood and Sam Curran during the innings break on Friday<\/p>\n
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Pietersen posted a picture of Flintoff and wrote: ‘Freddie BACK!!!!’ along with six heart emojis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Morgan also stated that it was ‘brilliant’ to see Flintoff back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Morgan wrote: ‘Brilliant to see \u2066Freddie @flintoff11\u2069 back with the England team today, after that horrendous Top Gear car smash.’<\/p>\n
Mail Sport’s David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd wrote: ‘Really , really pleased ! Great to have him back in the game’.<\/p>\n
Flintoff crashed at 130mph in a\u00a0three-wheeled open-top car which did not have air bags.<\/p>\n
He had to wait 45 minutes for an air ambulance to arrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flintoff quit Top Gear as a result of the incident and several members of staff who witnessed it\u00a0signed off sick indefinitely as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Filming of the 34th series of Top Gear was suspended, with a review into the incident taking place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flintoff played in 79 Tests and 141 one-day internationals before retiring after England won the 2009 Ashes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Flintoff (pictured right, sitting next to Joe Root, left) was inside the senior dressing room for the first ODI international against New Zealand<\/p>\n
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The TV host, pictured here with co-presenters Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness, had been filming the latest series of the show, which was due to be aired this autumn<\/p>\n
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The serious accident saw Flintoff quit Top Gear and several members of staff who witnessed it sign off sick indefinitely as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder<\/p>\n
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Flintoff poses wife Rachael and children Holly, Corey and Rocky in Australia in 2014<\/p>\n
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Pietersen expressed his delight at seeing his old team-mate Flintoff return to action<\/p>\n
Ahead of his return to work, Flintoff received encouragement from England managing director Rob Key and spent time working with the England Under-19 team.<\/p>\n
The injuries that Flintoff suffered left him in hospital for five weeks. It is currently uncertain whether he will resume his television career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the crash Flintoff’s wife Rachael repeatedly begged him to stay off work.<\/p>\n
This may well have influenced his decision to return to cricket rather than taking part in dangerous stunts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flintoff has four children with Rachael – Holly, Corey, Rocky and Preston.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mail on Sunday reported the high-speed accident and horrific injuries of the former England cricket star had a \u2018significant effect\u2019 on witnesses, preventing them from returning to work.<\/p>\n
Sources say that there were many staff present at last December\u2019s smash at the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold Park aerodrome in Surrey.<\/p>\n
One said: \u2018The scenes were awful, something you would truly want to unsee. The idea of returning to do that kind of work again for some people is just too much.<\/p>\n
\u2018It has been a terribly hard time for everyone involved in the crash. Some are still struggling with it so have been signed off work.\u2019<\/p>\n
In September 2019 Flintoff was left uninjured after crashing a trike at 124mph during a Top Gear competition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n