Freddie Flintoff reveals how cricket instincts saved his life in horror Top Gear crash

Cricket hero Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff recently divulged how his quick thinking during a cricket match may have saved him from a potentially fatal outcome. The sporting legend narrowly escaped with his life following a dramatic car accident while filming for the BBC's 'Top Gear'.

In December 2022, mayhem struck when the Morgan Super 3 vehicle that the English icon was driving during a Top Gear shoot somersaulted, dragging him mercilessly along the Dunsfold Aerodrome tarmac in Surrey.

Notorious for his prowess on the pitch, Flintoff's reflexes honed in England's glorious 2005 Ashes victory came in particularly useful. His fast-reacting skills, once used to flinch away from fast-approaching cricket balls, were critical in deciding how to position himself to avoid more grievous harm or even death.

Reliving the close shave with death, Flintoff explained to Disney+: "You get 0.4 of a second to make your mind up, where the ball is going, what shot you are you going to play, how you are going to move your feet, and as it started going over, I looked at the ground, and I knew if I get here on this side,' he said, pointing to the right side of his head, 'then I break my neck. If I get hit on the temple, I am dead. The best chance is go face down."

Flintoff recounted the harrowing ordeal of his accident, saying, "My head got hit, but then I got dragged out, and the car went over, and I went over the back of the car, and then pulled face down on the runway, about 50 metres underneath the car, and then it hit the grass, and then flipped back in."

Following the traumatic event, Flintoff became a recluse at home for seven months, only venturing out for necessary medical appointments.

It wasn't until the 2023 Ashes that he stepped back into the spotlight, subsequently commencing his coaching journey with England.

The ex-cricketer candidly revealed the depth of his despair following the crash, though stopping short of expressing suicidal thoughts, disclosed: "After the accident, I didn't think I had it in me to get through.

"This sounds awful: part of me wishes I had been killed, part of me thinks 'I wish I had died.' I didn't want to kill myself, don't mistake the two things, but I was thinking 'this would have been so much easier'."

In further life changes, Flintoff has decided to retire from his television work, attributing the need for some self-preservation as a factor in losing contact with his former Top Gear colleagues, Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness.