Andrew Flintoff: I want to stay involved

Now his injury-induced retirement from cricket has been confirmed, the day is nearing when Andrew Flintoff is going to have to settle on what he wants to do with the rest of his life. For a man of his all-round talents, not to mention his celebrity, there are no shortage of options available to him. What about a move into coaching? "I want to stay involved in the game, but I don't see my job as being a cricket coach," the former England all-rounder said.

Surely there is space for him in a Sky Sports commentary box which is already brimming with former England captains? "I don't fancy punditry either," he said. "I would find it hard to criticise." Television? "I've had a few offers," he said, straight-batting the chance to divulge what, saying he plans to discuss with his wife, Rachael, before deciding. What about a choreographer for a modern cricket dance? It is a new one on Flintoff, and he is not the only one.

The 32-year-old Lancastrian probably thought he had seen everything in a career spanning 14 years, 79 Tests, 141 one-day internationals and two Ashes victories. Yesterday was a day of firsts for him, however. He was invited to teach cricket to a group of Emirati schoolboys and girls in his role as an ambassador for the Princess Haya Initiative. He did not know quite what to expect, and was a little surprised when the girls, all from the Al Ibda'a Model School in Dubai replaced a conventional warm-up with a dance routine based around the movements used in cricket.

It was hardly the sort of thing Flintoff would have done to get himself in the zone ahead of a day of Test cricket, but he was still enthused by what he saw. "When I was growing up, cricket was 'public school', and you were told: 'This is what you do and this is how you play it'," Flintoff said. "If they want to come along and listen to music and start dancing, if that is the what gets them into cricket then brilliant.

"You are better off doing it like that than not doing it at all. It is the first time I have seen it done like that, however. "It is all about having a go and enjoying it as much as you can. Sport gets talked up a lot, but it is still just a game. The girls may have started off by dancing around, but they all knew how to hold a bat correctly. They have all obviously been coached. It is all about disguising the technical stuff within fun, and they did that really well."

The Princess Haya Initiative is designed to give children in government schools in Dubai a chance to sample new sports as part of their physical education curriculum. Emirati schools have traditionally been restricted to football and basketball, but Princess Haya wants to broaden the scope of activities available to children. Rugby, netball and badminton are other sports also incorporated in the scheme, but cricket benefits from having such a prominent star based in the city and ready to promote it.

If the television deals fall flat, Flintoff could have a future career in the classroom, according to his pupils for the day. "We hadn't heard of Andrew Flintoff before, but we got some information about him before we came here. He was very nice," Sara Abdulla, an 11-year-old pupil, said. "It is unique, totally different to what we are used to playing," Hissa Hussain, a fellow sixth grade pupil at Al Ibda'a, added.

"I like it more than other sports, like football and basketball. I definitely want to keep playing cricket in the future." 

pradley@thenational.ae