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Preston was back in the TV spotlight during Tuesday evening as Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams returned to the city.
Led by Ribbleton’s Andrew Flintoff the show, which won a BAFTA for its first series, sees the former England cricketer pick up where he left off with his unlikely set of cricketers assembled from across Preston.
Sean, Josh, Adnan and co are brought back together and told they will be heading to India under the close eye of Freddie and former Lancashire professional Kyle Hogg.
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The episode addresses the impact the high speed crash, which nearly killed Flintoff in December 2022, has had on his life.
Early minutes of the episode see Freddie pre-crash catching up with the team before the news is broken to his teenage team their tour has been put back after the crash which left Flintoff both physically and mentally scarred.
Flintoff speaks openly throughout the episode about the anxiety and challenges he’s faced.
In an emotional moment in January this year he sees the group of players again for the first time since his recovery from the crash.
Addressing what happened in the Top Gear crash Flintoff said: “Am I better? No. Different. Yeah, it’s different. Not no, not better.”
In a candid scene with Hogg, filmed at Flintoff’s home, the pair discuss his nervousness about the trip to India and his difficulties in getting back to day-to-day life since the crash.
Sean, the series ‘teenage tearaway’, speaks on behalf of the group saying: “He was there for us throughout the last few years, so now it’s time for us to be there for him.”
The team, after experiencing a high intensity training at the England Cricket Boards training facility at Loughborough University with a gentle bollocking delivered by Flintoff when none of the Preston crew appear when it is breakfast time.
The episode also touches on the asylum battle for Adnan, the previous series’ star cricketer, and he reflects on his successful application after initially being refused.
There’s upset for the group as two of their players with Pakistani heritage are refused visas for the trip.
Following many sweeping drone shots of Preston and its skyline, and a few trips to Vernon Carus which Freddie fundraised for in the last episode, the team arrive in Kolkata during the first episode for their taste of life in India.
During the first night’s meal Freddie says: “We’re representing something far bigger than that, bigger than England, we are representing Preston.”
The first game experienced by the Preston team is a game of ‘gully cricket’ played in the city’s back streets.
Freddie is left knowing there is work to do as the team are pulled apart by the Indian side.
The series is a four-parter and airs every Tuesday at 9pm. You can watch it on BBC iPlayer.
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