Freddie Flintoff is left "heartbroken" after he finds out that one of his young cricket team members spent a portion of his childhood, living on the streets. The story is shared on Tuesday, July 12 on Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams during which the former cricketing star attempts to create a cricket team from scratch with reluctant teenagers from his hometown of Preston. You can read more about it here.
The Top Gear host, 44, was shocked when Ben, 18, told him: “I was sleeping rough.” A baffled Freddie replied: “What shop doorways and things?” before Ben said: “Yeah, Preston Bus Station.” The aspiring cricketer, who had been living in shared housing for two months, was visited by Freddie because he had been missing sessions, as he juggled his college work with finding a job.
“I was just going from sofa to sofa between my mates," said Ben of his situation, "I’ve always been moving about loads because when I was seven, my parents split so I was going house to house but I couldn’t live with my mum anymore."
Read more: BBC Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams: What's it about and when can I watch it?
Ben confirmed that he had been “on and off homeless for six months,” when he was 15. When Freddie asked him whether he was frightened at the time, he replied: “Oh yeah but it was just what I had to do,” and described his current accommodation as a “step up” for him.
Earlier in the episode of the BBC show, Ben said that one of his reasonings for joining Freddie's cricket team was because he didn't "have a big circle of friends". He said: "I’m by myself quite a lot of the time. Freddie’s team - I thought it’d be a good opportunity to meet new people and just do something different with my life.”
Chatting to Freddie about his loneliness, Ben said: “I think I’m used to doing everything myself,” and the sporting legend told him that if he ever needed help, “come and ask”.
An emotional Freddie walked away from his conversation, slightly shocked, and said: "He's only a year older than one of my kids." He added: "The thought that your child has been sleeping rough, it's heartbreaking isn't it? I just don't understand how it can even come to that."
As one of the few professional international cricketers who was not privately educated and came from a working-class background, Freddie is determined to prove that cricket is for everyone in the new series.
The series continues on BBC One at 8pm on Tuesday, July 12
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