Freddie Flintoff's Field Of Dreams: Prestonian cricket star's new BBC show filmed in his hometown to air next week

Airing on the BBC on Tuesday (July 5), Field of Dreams takes the sporting legend on his toughest challenge yet as he creates a cricket team from scratch with reluctant teenagers from his hometown of Preston. 

Although Flintoff was from a working-class background, in the last Ashes series, two thirds of the England squad were privately educated, something which he wants to change.

Through the show, Flintoff, 44, is determined to prove that anyone, whatever their background, can find confidence, camaraderie and success playing the sport he loves. 

From the outset, viewers see Freddie come up against negative attitudes to cricket, but undeterred by the reception his idea receives in Preston, Freddie holds try outs and starts a training regime with a group of local teenagers. 

Not only does he need to attract people to turn up to his sessions, Freddie also needs to train his new team, get them ready to take on an elite private school, find them a club and secure funding.

During the show, Freddie meets 15 year-old Sean, who has attended several different schools, and 17 year-old Ammar, who moved to the UK six years ago and had never even heard of Freddie. 

Most of these boys have never even picked up a cricket bat, so have a lot to learn in a very short space of time as they will be competing against teams that have been playing together for years. 

Despite just a few weeks of training and only a vague notion of the rules, the documentary shows Freddie’s boys play their first ever cricket match, although not everyone is impressed with the rural setting, or the traditions of cricket that Freddie loves…

Can he inspire the next generation to give cricket a chance, or has he bitten off more than he can chew? You can find out how he gets on in the upcoming weeks.

Filming for the documentary took place across several Lancashire locations in 2021 and 2022, including in Leyland, where Flintoff was spotted last August.

The first episode of Freddie’s Field of Dreams will be on BBC 1 on Tuesday between 8-9 pm.