Andrew Flintoff Says ‘i Didn’t Know If I Had It In Me To Carry On’ After Top Gear Crash

Andrew Flintoff has said he “didn’t cognize if I had it successful maine to transportation on” aft his crash astatine nan Top Gear trial track.

The 47-year-old was speaking connected Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams: Ultimate Test, nan 3rd bid to beryllium made successful which nan erstwhile England cricket skipper attempts to build caller teams from teenagers who person constricted acquisition of nan game.

In nan first section of nan caller BBC One bid which launches connected Sunday 7 September, Flintoff attempts to build his first squad of girls successful Blackpool, and 1 of nan teenagers he invites to subordinate them asks him: “How difficult was it to time off your location again?” aft nan crash.

Flintoff replied: “It was, what – 18 months ago? And you know, I’ve suffered pinch things for illustration slump successful nan past before, but this clip was different. I didn’t cognize if I had it successful maine to transportation on, not that I wanted to dice aliases thing for illustration that, I conscionable didn’t cognize if I had it successful me, and that took a while.

“The 1 thing, I think, getting rather heavy here, but nan 1 point you conscionable want to beryllium is happy successful yourself, and effort and beryllium accepting of yourself of what you are. It took maine a agelong clip to beryllium for illustration that, and past nan clang put maine backmost again, and now it’s for illustration uncovering myself aliases uncovering nan personification I want to be.”

Flintoff was taken to infirmary pinch facial and rib injuries pursuing nan clang astatine Dunsfold Aerodrome successful Surrey, successful December 2022.

At an earlier constituent successful nan episode, Flintoff tells different woman that he has “gone backmost to cricket” aft nan incident arsenic it is “a spot safer”.

It comes aft nan show’s 2nd bid saw Flintoff speak astir nan incident for nan first clip connected television, revealing he was “crying each 2 minutes”, and only near his location for aesculapian appointments successful nan 7 months pursuing nan crash.

In a Disney+ documentary named aft him released earlier this year, Flintoff admitted that a portion of him wished he had died aft nan crash. He said: “This sounds awful…part of maine wishes I’d been killed. Part of maine thinks, I wish I’d died. “I didn’t want to termination myself…I wouldn’t correction nan 2 things.
“I was not wishing, I was conscionable thinking, ‘this would person been truthful overmuch easier’.
“Now I effort to return nan cognition that nan sun will travel up tomorrow and my kids will still springiness maine a hug. I’m astir apt successful a amended spot now.”

Following nan incident, nan BBC “rested” Top Gear for nan foreseeable early successful 2023 aft reaching a financial colony pinch Flintoff, an statement reportedly worthy astir £9m.

In nan UK and Ireland, Samaritans tin beryllium contacted connected freephone 116 123, aliases email jo@samaritans.org aliases jo@samaritans.ie. In nan US, you tin telephone aliases matter nan National Suicide Prevention Lifeline connected 988, chat connected 988lifeline.org, aliases text HOME to 741741 to link pinch a situation counsellor. In Australia, nan situation support work Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other world helplines tin beryllium recovered astatine befrienders.org