Andrew Flintoff set for his first head coach role with Northern Superchargers in The Hundred

Flintoff gradually returned to the limelight through cricket in the English summer after a crash last December while filming a stunt for the BBC show Top Gear left him hospitalised with facial and rib injuries.

He is now set for his first head coach role and replaces ex-England wicketkeeper James Foster, who left the Superchargers last week after two years with the Headingley-based team.

The 45-year-old said in a statement: "I am excited to have been appointed head coach of the Northern Superchargers men's team."

Flintoff, who earned national treasure status for his starring role in the seminal 2005 Ashes and was capped 227 times by England, had turned to broadcasting after ending his playing career.

He had receded from public view in the months following his crash but was coaxed by close friend and former team-mate Rob Key, the managing director of England men's cricket, to return to the fold.

Flintoff joined England's backroom team in an unpaid capacity for their ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland, and he will later this week travel to Abu Dhabi as part of the coaching staff for a training camp for the second-string Lions.

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