"A couple of times he's spoken in the changing-room it's been like, 'wow'" - Marcus Trescothick on Andrew Flintoff's impact on England men's team
England men's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick is enjoying Andrew Flintoff's presence around the team. He said Flintoff is inspiring the players, giving valuable advice to bowlers, and most importantly has "grown back into" himself in a comfortable environment after his near-fatal accident last December.
The car accident while shooting an episode for the TV show Top Gear left the former all-rounder with facial scars. He made his first public appearance during England's first ODI against New Zealand at Cardiff on September 8.
Since then, he has worked with the team as an unpaid assistant including in the ongoing series against Ireland.
"It's been hard actually because he hammers me more than anyone else," Trescothick jokingly told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm the first target for his banter at the moment, but having him around has been superb, it really has."
"Seeing him grow back into Freddie and getting back into the cricket…obviously he's been away from cricket for a long period of time. But this is where it all starts and where it belongs for him. The guys have really taken to him,'" he continued.
"He's been brilliant. A couple of times he's spoken in the changing-room it's been like, 'wow'. You can see the difference, and I've seen the progression of him as a character; the way he talks and delivers messages to players has been superb. To have him sprinkling a bit of gold dust around the team and having the younger players working with that has been invaluable, really. You can't put a price on it," the former batter added.
Trescothick said Flintoff was a bit nervous at the start because he didn't know a lot of players but grew to enjoy the opportunity. Although there are no plans in place to extend the relationship beyond the final match against Ireland on Tuesday, it won't be a surprise if that changes soon.
If cricket can help people in tougher times, we are doing something right: Marcus Trescothick
Trescothick, who went through mental health struggles during his playing days, feels that cricket can help Flintoff in this phase of his life.
"You become more comfortable, don't you?" Trescothick said. "This is what we know, this is what we've grown up with for so many years. Once you come to your comfortable environment, you know what goes on and you understand the place, people have respect for what he has done and enjoy seeing him improving."
"That's really good from our point of view. If we as players and squads and cricket in general keep doing that for people who have fallen on tougher times, then great, we're doing something right," he added.
England will play the 2023 World Cup opener against New Zealand on October 5.