England legend Freddie Flintoff in career-first as he lands new job

Freddie Flintoff has a new job as coach of Sydney Thunder, marking a career-first for the England legend.

The iconic all-rounder has turned his hand to coaching since retirement, but he has never managed abroad until this point.

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The 48-year-old is set to continue as England Lions coach, but he will leave their tour early to take up this role.

The Lions are due in South Africa around the same time the Big Bash gets going.

But Flintoff leaves with the blessing of the ECB, who believe this is an opportunity for the Englishman to develop and grow as a coach.

He has signed a two-season deal with the Sydney side and replaces former England coach Trevor Bayliss.

In a statement, he said: “I can’t wait to get over there and get started.

“I’m looking at this with a lot of optimism.

“You look at the franchise, you look at the players, you look at the support, and I think there’s something really big to build on.”

Thunder general manager Trent Copeland said: “This is a huge day in the history of Sydney Thunder, and the BBL more broadly.

“Fred brings something truly unique to Sydney Thunder. He’s a global icon of the game, but more importantly he is a modern leader who understands how to build high-performance environments, connect with players as people, and set standards that last.

“His passion for the game, coaching itself and knowledge of Australian cricket and our Thunder program stood out during the process.”

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Flintoff’s coaching career

Flintoff’s first role as a head coach came in 2023 when the Northern Superchargers hired him to run their Hundred team.

He stayed for two years before departing in late 2025.

The Superchargers have been taken over by the Sun Group, with the Indian media group paying £100million to acquire the team.

But in negotiations with Flintoff, they couldn’t agree a salary package, with him being offered far less than other coaches within The Hundred.

Speaking about that on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, he said: “I genuinely don’t do it for the money – although it’s nice – but I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the salary of other head coaches.

“We have new owners and I spoke to them and said: ‘Yeah, fine, make us an offer.’

“I wasn’t encouraged they wanted me anyway, and you want to feel valued. So I said that it’s not going to work for me and they weren’t going to move on it.

“So, unfortunately, I’m not going to do it, which is sad.

“The past two years, I felt we were building somewhere really nice, and I’d have loved to have seen it through.”

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While working as Superchargers head coach, the ECB offered Flintoff the chance to take the Lions.

This happened in 2024, and he’s remained in that role since.

The Lions are England’s B team, with a mixture of young players and older ones all hoping to break into the Test team.

And it’s something that he is passionate about with Flintoff admitting that becoming the actual Test coach wasn’t something on his mind.

In an interview in 2025 with the Stick to Cricket podcast, he said: “It’s not something I’m looking at. Baz McCullum is incredible – the best England coach.

“Honestly, at the moment, I feel as though I’m in the perfect place working with the Lions.

“I don’t see this as a stepping stone to anything else, I’m invested in this and get a chance to work with these lads.”