ANDREW FLINTOFF has been tipped for a shock new job after his pay row with the Northern Superchargers.
But his 2005 Ashes pal reckons snubbing the opportunity would be good for England.
Andrew Flintoff could stay in The Hundred after leaving the Northern Superchargers[/caption]
Flintoff’s close friend Steve Harmison thinks snubbing another role could be a benefit for England[/caption]
Flintoff quit as head coach of the Superchargers, insisting he was “worth more” than what the new owners of The Hundred franchise were willing to pay.
The former England hero, 47, led his side to fourth and the Eliminator in his two seasons at the helm.
But when the Sun Group, an Indian media conglomerate, paid more than £100million for the Leeds-based team, they did not see eye to eye.
Now, though, his good friend Steve Harmison reckons he could return to The Hundred with immediate effect.
The Trent Rockets are looking for a new head coach after Andy Flower left for the London Spirit.
And that may pave the way for Flintoff to head to Nottingham – although the gig with the Manchester Originals could also be tempting for the Lancashire legend.
However, Harmison is worried his involvement in The Hundred could have a negative impact on Flintoff and England – due to his other role as head coach of the national Lions development team.
Harmison told talkSPORT: “I could see him going to Trent Rockets because there is a vacancy there. Will he hang on for Manchester Originals?
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“But it’s better for English cricket that he’s not doing the franchise cricket because I think the franchise is shocking.
“You’ve got a competition of eight teams and there are not many English coaches.
“If you are looking at trying to have a pathway for England players, where is your pathway for the next England coach from England after Brendon McCullum?
“You could argue it was coming with an Andrew Flintoff-type. But, at this moment in time, it wasn’t the right thing for him. He’s moved out, somebody will move in – he’s doing a great job with the Lions, shaping future players.
“Where it goes when it comes to the franchise stuff, God only knows. But I am pleased he’s not doing that anymore.
“Some of these young Lions players will get the full attention of Andrew Flintoff, where before, he has had one eye on the franchise world.”
Flintoff will be with the Lions squad for the build-up to the Ashes.
He said of his Headingley exit: “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.
“I felt we were building something over the last two years and I’d have loved to see it through.”
