Challenge meets opportunity as Andrew Flintoff turns back Freddie clock in England colours

Inspirational all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been seen in England's dressing room during their recent assignments against New Zealand and Ireland.

The 45-year-old suffered a horrific accident while filming an episode of Top Gear last December, which almost proved fatal. He is currently working as an unpaid assistant coach of the England team, which is part of his recovery process. The World Cup-bound players have apparently benefitted a lot from the legendary former cricketer's presence in the dressing room, and his tenure was extended into the ongoing series against Ireland.

England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick, who played alongside Flintoff for many years for the national team, said that the Preston-born loves to target him for his banters and also spoke about his positive impact on the current crop of players.

"It's been hard actually because he hammers me more than anyone else. I'm the first target for his banter at the moment, but having him around has been superb, it really has. Seeing him grow back into Freddie and getting back into the cricket. obviously he's been away from cricket for a long period of time. But this is where it all starts and where it belongs for him. The guys have really taken to him." Trescothick was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"He's been brilliant. A couple of times he's spoken in the changing-room it's been like, 'wow'. You can see the difference, and I've seen the progression of him as a character; the way he talks and delivers messages to players has been superb. To have him sprinkling a bit of gold dust around the team and having the younger players working with that has been invaluable, really. You can't put a price on it," the former England opener added.

Flintoff's tenure will come to an end after the third ODI between England and Ireland, which is scheduled to be played in Bristol on Tuesday, September 26. It will be interesting to see if he travels with the England team to India as Jos Buttler and Co. look to defend the 50-over World Cup title.