The first decade of this century featured some of English cricket’s most well-known names. Now they are being thrust back into the spotlight by the exploits of their children.
Sixteen-year-old Rocky Flintoff leads the way, after receiving his first senior call-up for England Lions’ tour of Australia next month. His famous father Andrew Flintoff is head coach.
Archie Vaughan, another son of an ex-England captain in Michael Vaughan, has made his mark professionally too and is set to be part of an England Under-19 series against South Africa in January.
But they are just the tip of the iceberg with several more juniors who spent their primary years with the outfields of England’s international stadiums as their playgrounds, knocking about with bat and ball as long as the the evening sun permitted, coming through county cricket’s youth systems.
Here, Mail Sport introduces the kids of an England team that ended 18 winless years against Australia in 2005 and went on to hit the number one ranking in Tests for the one and only time in international cricket history six years later:
Rocky Flintoff, batter, Lancashire
A truly precocious talent, there aren’t many ‘youngest’ records the third eldest of the four Flintoff siblings does not hold: youngest Lancashire player to score a second XI hundred, snatching the 30-year-old record held by his dad, the county’s youngest debutant in both first-class and one-day cricket, and youngest centurion for England Under-19s.
The children of the 2005 Ashes generation (above) are gearing up to take on world cricket
England legend Andrew Flintoff’s 16-year-old son Rocky (above) is just the tip of the iceberg, having this week earned a surprise call-up for England Lions’ tour of Australia next month
Andrew Flintoff was part of England’s stunning Ashes triumph over Australia back in 2005
The candles on his 16th birthday cake were still smouldering when he reached three figures against Warwickshire’s seconds at Edgbaston to national attention in April.
It was an innings punctuated by unmistakable swivel pulls – a distinct family trade mark – and open shoulder hitting.
And it meant he spent the summer of GCSEs dashing between the classrooms of Manchester Grammar School – alma mater of Michael Atherton – and the county circuit.
Despite averaging just 12.42 in four first-class appearances last summer, the England hierarchy are clearly keen to invest in Freddie mark two on a trip down under departing on January 3 that includes a four-day ‘Test’ against Australia A.
Corey Flintoff, all-rounder, Lancashire
The eldest of the Flintoff clan, and two years Rocky’s senior, the seamer has been dogged by a stress fracture of the back that curtailed his 2023 season, rehabilitating the injury alongside multi-format England pace bowler Saqib Mahmood at Emirates Old Trafford.
He returned in 2024 on a back-to-bowling programme in Lancashire’s second XI, sending down a prescribed limit of overs per match and was a team-mate of Adnan Miakhel, the Afghanistan refugee star of his dad Freddie’s BBC show Field of Dreams, in his most recent outing for Lancashire’s Under-18s.
There are echoes of 25 years ago here. ‘Freddie’ was forced to play as a specialist batsman for a while in his late teens as his spine learned to cope with the hulking frame around it.
Being upstaged by your little brother can’t be much fun, so expect the 18-year-old Corey to remind people of the pecking order when he finally returns to full fitness.
Michael Vaughan’s 19-year-old son Archie (above) burst on to the senior scene in 2024
The Somerset teenager impressed with figures of 11 for 140 against Durham in late August
Archie Vaughan, all-rounder, Somerset
Recruited for the Somerset academy last year while down the road at acclaimed cricket school Millfield, Vaughan junior burst onto the senior scene during the final month of the 2024 season when he followed a first-class debut in the crushing victory over Durham in late August with figures of 11 for 140, a performance that proved the decisive one in settling a last-gasp success over champions Surrey at Taunton.
The combination of skill and control suggested his off-spin – delivered with the undeniable mannerisms of his famous father, the 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan – will be the stronger suit of his all-round game.
One former England Test player observed: ‘You watch young spinners come out now, and they all kind of do the same thing – bowl flat, don’t really spin it. I watched his first over in first-class cricket, and I was like, “Jesus, hold on a minute. There’s some proper shape on that. He gets proper spin.”
However, his county captain Lewis Gregory disagrees on the balance of powers: ‘Archie has taken to first-class cricket like a duck to water. The fact that he is more of a batter than a bowler is the really exciting bit and we believe he is going to be very good to watch with the bat over a number of years.’
Like Rocky Flintoff, he is spending early December with England’s Young Lions in South Africa, but even at the tender age of 19, it is anticipated that he will become a focal figure in county cricket next summer.
Charlie Harmison, fast bowler, Northumberland
The 16-year-old has inherited the gangling frame of his dad Steve Harmison, pushing six and a half feet, but only following a relatively recent growth spurt and getting used to a drastic change in body shape that Stuart Broad encountered at the same age.
It is partly for this physical transformation that Harmison views his lad as a late developer and has refused to push him beyond fatherly encouragement and occasional pointers.
‘I’ve seen so many kids give the game up between the age of 15 and 19 because unfortunately they’ve got parents who try to live their professional cricket careers through their sons,’ Harmison says.
Archie Vaughan’s father Michael (above) holds the Ashes urn after his side’s victory in 2005
Steve Harmison (above) views his 16-year-old son Charlie as a late developer in youth cricket
He and his wife Hayley make a point of placing their deck chairs as far away from the dressing room areas as possible when watching Charlie play, and only ‘chew the fat’ about the game in the car on the way home, wary of not being overly analytical, too excitable in times of success and negative if things haven’t gone so well.
‘If my son goes on to play cricket for Durham and England or if he just plays the game, I am not going to get hung up on where he goes,’ Harmison adds.
Strength and stamina will be worked upon over the next couple of years, but he already lines up alongside uncles Ben and James for Ashington’s first XI in the North East Premier League and has featured for Northumberland’s Under-18s as well as the Under-16 team over the past couple of years, notably claiming three for 26 against Yorkshire in a 50-over cup match.
Johnny Prior, wicketkeeper, Sussex
‘Can you believe it, even though his dad told him: “Whatever you do, do not keep wicket.” What does he do?’ Despite the disregard of his paternal advice, Matt Prior says Johnny is not strictly a chip off the old block.
‘I say this not as his father but as a wicketkeeper who will scrutinise these things: he’s far better than I was. Far better. You have your Ben Foakes, Chris Read, James Foster, Alan Knott figures, born wicketkeepers, who would pluck the ball out of thin air, and then you have people like me who had to work hard bloody hard to be okay,’ Prior tells Mail Sport.
‘I haven’t coached him. He’s just done his own thing. He’s just a natural stood up to the stumps. He’s kind of got that MS Dhoni position down to a tee.
‘He kind of made the decision “I want to be a professional cricketer,” and I was like: “Oh, God.” Whether that means he makes it or not is completely irrelevant.’
Prior is more thrilled that the Sussex pathway player is enjoying the game. Oh, and that he and his eldest of five children took the field for Cuckfield last season.
Former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior admits his son Johnny is ‘far better’ than he was
‘Because he was playing in the Sussex Premier League, they asked me if I wanted to play. So I waddled out and had a couple of games. I usually play a pub game or a village game or whatever, and it’s been a laugh, but trying to win the league, with my 15 year old son in the team, was pretty cool.’
Prior, who won 79 Test caps, made 43 against Middleton in a match that Johnny hit 34 from no 6 and they both turned out in a defeat to eventual champions Preston Nomads in the final round.
Hannah Collingwood, all-rounder, Durham
Social media footage of Hannah bowling Joe Root at the end of England’s Old Trafford Test with South Africa two years ago went viral and she has featured in her England assistant coach dad Paul’s online coaching videos.
Durham also used Collingwood junior in their video pitch during their successful bid for Tier 1 women’s status earlier this year.
Like her famous father, she can do a bit of everything to a high standard, although she bowls left-arm seamers rather than right, averaging just 20 with the bat and 8.44 with the ball for the county’s Under-13 team over the past two seasons.
‘It’s almost a mirror image of what happened in my career. When Durham got first-class status in 1992, I was 16. Hannah’s 13 now and this is perfect timing for her to be in the pathway system,’ Collingwood says.
‘She doesn’t enjoy playing club cricket as much, but she absolutely loves playing for Durham – the camaraderie and the competitiveness. She’s got a hell of a lot of talent, but she doesn’t like me telling her.
‘Occasionally, she’ll tell me that the coach’s feedback will be that she is really good at something, to which I remind her that I have been saying the same thing for two years.’
Hannah Collingwood, like her father Paul (above), can do a bit of everything to a high standard
The runs have been flowing for Ian Bell’s (above) son Joseph for Warwickshire’s Under-11 side
Unsurprisingly, Hannah is also dynamite in the field: ‘The one thing I have always done whether it be tennis balls or cricket balls is hit catches high into the air. On holidays, she would be diving in the sea.’
Collingwood says there are times when he wishes the youngest of his three daughters would place greater emphasis on her game, but is naturally delighted to see her represent the county he served with such distinction for 24 seasons.
‘These days there are opportunities for girls not only to play amateur cricket, but if you are enjoying it enough, there is a transition into professional cricket too,’ he reflects.
And finally… Joseph Bell, batter, Warwickshire
There has been a feeling of deja vu at Edgbaston, where a certain Bell has occupied the Nos 3 and 4 on the scorecards of Warwickshire’s Under-11 side.
And the runs have flowed too: an innings of 62 off 60 balls guiding the junior Bears to a four-wicket win over Shropshire last summer.
