Piers Morgan reveals Freddie Flintoff sent him a ’54-word text’ last week saying he’s ‘loving being back around the cricket world again’ as the England legend continues to recover from Top Gear horror crash
- Piers Morgan has revealed he received a text from Freddie Flintoff after his crash
- The ex-England star suffered a life threatening crash while filming for Top Gear
- Flintoff has this week been back in a mentoring role with England’s cricket team
Piers Morgan has revealed Freddie Flintoff sent him a ’54-word text message’ last week after the former England star was seen for the first time since his life threatening car crash.
The journalist, who was writing in his column ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ for The Sun did not reveal the exact words of the message, but stated Flintoff ‘sounded very positive, and said he was loving being back around the cricket world again.’
The 45-year-old was ‘lucky to be alive’ according to his 16-year-old son Corey, after his open-top Morgan Super 3, which is capable of speeds of up to 130mph, flipped over suddenly in icy conditions back in December.
Flintoff was filming for Top Gear at the time and nine months later, has been seen for the first time since the near-fatal accident, with photographs of Flintoff showing several scars on his face.
Mail Sport understands that the 2005 Ashes hero began his return from the crash by watching England play against Australia in this summer’s series ‘incognito’ in back offices as a guest of England managing director and best friend Rob Key.
Piers Morgan (right) has revealed Freddie Flintoff (left) sent him a text message last week
While he did not divulge the full details of the message, Morgan claimed Flintoff (pictured) seemed ‘positive’ and was ‘loving being back around the cricket world again’
The 45-year-old was pictured back with England for the first time this week with scars on his face, following his horror car accident back in December
He’s since taken up an unpaid mentorship role with the national side and has been seen this week smiling and grinning as he watched England claim a 3-1 ODI series victory against New Zealand.
Morgan, a close friend of Flintoff’s, claimed that he had not had contact with the former cricketer for eight months, despite sending him regular WhatsApps and spoke of his concern at the radio silence from Flintoff.
READ MORE: Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is seen for the first time since near-fatal Top Gear crash nine months ago – as he makes return to sport working with England cricket team
He wrote: ‘For eight months, there was no reply; just a constant, increasingly unsettling silence from a guy who I’ve known for 20 years, texted with very often, and who I consider a great friend.
‘The longer the silence went on, the more worried I grew about what exactly had happened to him in an accident I knew he’d been lucky to survive.’
‘I was simply told he was “periscope down” which did nothing to allay my concerns,’ he added.
Mail Sport unveiled the first images of Flintoff following the incident last Friday as he helped England train ahead of their opening ODI match against New Zealand.
And on seeing the pictures, Morgan messaged his old friend once again, this time receiving a reply from the cricketer.
‘I texted him, and Rachael, to say how happy the photos had made me, and to my amazement, Freddie replied,’ The Sun columnist wrote.
‘I won’t say what he wrote in his message because he’s said nothing publicly yet about what happened that fateful day last December, and it’s for him to choose what he wants to say when he decides to say it.
‘But he sounded very positive, and said he was loving being back around the cricket world again.’
Many inside the cricket world have, like Morgan, also expressed their delight to see the cricketing icon back.
Former team-mate Steve Harmison told talkSPORT that ‘It was great to see him back. It’s been tough, you’ve seen the pictures of him with a smile on his face but I saw him about six weeks ago when my son Charlie and his son, Rocky played against each other and it was great to see him.
‘I got to see him then but at that time he covered his face up when he walked around – believe it or not, he was training a guide dog which I’m sure is going better now than it was because he tripped over around three times on his way around the field!’
Paul Collingwood added that Flintoff was ‘pinching himself’ to be once again involved with the England team, saying, ‘The knowledge he’s got playing the game and pressure situations – he pretty much encapsulated how this white-ball team goes about their cricket. It’s all about putting the opposition under pressure, which is exactly what he did.’
Meanwhile, England’s current crop of stars have also expressed how good it has been to have Flintoff’s wisdom in and around the dressing room.
Flintoff (right) has taken up an unpaid mentorship role with the England squad and has been seen working with the side throughout their ODI series victory against New Zealand last week
Many former players and current stars have expressed their delight to see Flintoff back working with England
Morgan, writing in his column for The Sun, recalled some brilliant anecdotes about the 2005 Ashes hero (pictured), before wrapping up his piece saying ‘Welcome back mate!’
Chris Woakes spoke this week of how ‘surreal’ it was to have Flintoff around the squad with pictures emerging of the former star laughing and smiling with the current stars, who have impressed with the white ball in the past two weeks against New Zealand.
Woakes said: ‘Having Freddie around the group is amazing and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the first time I’ve spent a large amount of time with him.
‘I’ve met him on a few occasions but to have him around the group – for me, he was a hero of mine growing up. To pick his brains and chat a bit of rubbish with him in the dressing-room is surreal really. It’s great!’
Morgan, who recalled several brilliant anecdotes about the England legend in his column, expressed his delight to see Flintoff back working with England, finishing his piece saying: ‘Welcome back mate!’
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