Andrew Flintoff will not be back in Northern Superchargers colours next summer. After two seasons in charge, the former England all-rounder says he could not find common ground with the franchise’s new backers, the Sun Group, ahead of what is expected to be a re-shaped 2026 Hundred campaign.
The 47-year-old was a left-field appointment when he took the job in late 2023. It was his first proper crack at senior coaching, coming only months after he eased himself back into the public eye through some low-key work with the England men’s set-up. Flintoff, of course, had almost stepped away from everything following the serious Top Gear accident in December 2022.
On the field the Superchargers were no push-overs. Harry Brook captained a side that also boasted Adil Rashid, Zak Crawley and Matthew Potts. Fourth place in 2024 became third in 2025, though hopes of reaching the final vanished when rain wiped out their Eliminator against Trent Rockets. Those who finished higher in the group moved on; the Superchargers were left packing.
Flintoff’s coaching CV has grown in parallel. He is now head coach of England Lions and will lead the squad in Australia this winter while the senior team contest the Ashes. That role remains, but his link to Headingley has been cut.
Speaking on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, he laid out the story in typically blunt fashion. “I’ll be honest with you, franchise coaching was never in my plans,” he said. “Marcus North [director of cricket] phoned me up, and I thought: ‘Yeah, go on then.’ And I loved it, actually.”
“It was at Yorkshire [Headingley], which was different for me [as a former Lancashire player], but then to actually be involved in it, I think they took to us. As a side we did some pretty good stuff, but we were so unlucky.”
The sticking point, he explained, was the new ownership. The Sun Group, who purchased the Leeds-based franchise outright during this year’s equity sale, also run Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s SA20. They have cash, contacts and a preference for their own people. Daniel Vettori, already on the Sunrisers books and previously head coach at Birmingham Phoenix, is an obvious name in the frame.
“We’ve seen the Hundred change now,” Flintoff said. “We’ve got new owners, and I spoke to them when they phoned up. They said they wanted us to do it, so I said: ‘Yeah, fine. Make us an offer.’”
That offer, he felt, undervalued him. “I genuinely don’t do it for the money, right, although it’s nice … but I think I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the [salary of] other head coaches. I wasn’t encouraged they wanted me anyway, but then also 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.”
The conclusion? “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.”
Where now for Flintoff?
In the short term he remains busy enough. The Lions tour overlaps with England’s senior itinerary, giving Flintoff scope to road-test emerging talent on fast Australian pitches. Longer term, several Hundred teams could be tempted. Manchester Originals, his old county patch, still haven’t settled on a permanent coach. Overseas leagues may also hover; Vettori’s possible promotion in Leeds could open a slot elsewhere in the Sunrisers empire.
More broadly, his exit is another marker of The Hundred’s fast-moving landscape. Private owners now call the tune. Recruitment, pay scales and even playing style may reflect different priorities. Financial muscle varies, and Flintoff’s experience shows that sentiment counts for less than a balance sheet.
One agent, who has handled deals across three short-form leagues, offered a pragmatic take. “New owners often arrive with spreadsheets,” he said. “If a coach’s number doesn’t line up with their model, they move on. It isn’t personal, it’s business.”
Players might feel it too. Brook and Rashid are contracted centrally by England, but several squad spots are up for renewal. A fresh coaching group could look abroad, particularly to the Caribbean or South Africa, for lower-cost power hitting. Local fans may notice a different accent in the dug-out come July.
For now, though, Flintoff’s coaching journey pauses at two seasons. He leaves with a healthy win-loss record, a loyal dressing-room and, by all accounts, his sense of humour intact. The Superchargers begin again under new management; Flintoff heads for the next challenge, pockets unbursting but pride relatively undented. Appropriately understated, he summed it up himself on the podcast: “Yeah, bit of a shame, but that’s sport, isn’t it?”
