Freddie Flintoff to play in charity match at St Annes Cricket Club

The former Lancashire and England all-rounder is to lead a team in a charity match against St Annes past and present players at the Vernon Road ground on Thursday, June 2 in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

Flintoff, who was snapped up by Lancashire after first being spotted starring for St Annes as a schoolboy, has chosen to host the fundraiser match at St Annes CC in memory of his grandad Harry Hargreaves and St Annes club stalwart Brian Standing, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s prior to his death earlier this year.

Admission to the match is free, but donations will be invited, with every penny going to the charity.

The match, on the first day of the two-day Jubilee Bank Holiday, will start at 1pm and be T20 format of 20 big-hitting overs a side. Gates will open at noon.

A spokesman for St Annes CC said: “We’re really excited to announce that we’re hosting Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff and friends and St Annes CC past and present players.

"The Alzheimer’s Society is a charity very close to our hearts, a care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers and we and all the players would be incredibly thankful if spectators could make a £5 donation to the Alzheimer’s Society or whatever you can afford – any amount, large or small, from pennies to pounds, would greatly benefit the charity.

“Brian Standing, who was our club president, and Andrew’s grandad Harry Hargreaves – two finer gentlemen you could not wish to meet – supported our senior and junior teams for many years while sitting on a bench on the boundary, merrily chatting away.”

Just last weekend, Flintoff, now a TV presenter, took a team to Palace Shield club Vernon Carus, where he also played as a youngster, to mark the opening of a new clubhouse there.

Flintoff attracted a bumper crowd to the St Annes ground in the summer of 2014 when he made a brief comeback for St Annes in the Northern League.

Further details of the charity match at St Annes Cricket Club’s website.