It was never really about cricket. In July 2022, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams saw the England cricketer turned TV presenter create a new youth team out of nowhere in Preston, Lancashire, persuading a group of listless teens to leave their bedrooms and pick up bats and balls. The artifices of reality TV couldn’t conceal that the lads were not all that good at or interested in the game itself, but that didn’t matter: what made the series so moving was the effect the project, and Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff, had on their self-esteem. Being part of a team, with something to aim for and someone believing in them, looked life-changing.
A follow-up series, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams on Tour, was announced. More than a year late, here it is, and to begin with it is the programme as planned. In scenes filmed towards the end of 2022, Flintoff reconvenes the team and says he wants to take them to play in India: before that, a training camp at Loughborough University has the familiar Field of Dreams dynamic. None of the boys get out of bed in time for a 7.30am breakfast meeting but, after a firm but caring telling-off from Flintoff, they enjoy a fruitful training session. The camera lingers on Flintoff as he basks in the upbeat mood: “This weekend, I’ve loved it.”
