Andrew Flintoff watches England-New Zealand ODI from team balcony

Andrew Flintoff was at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens on Friday to watch England’s opening one-day international against New Zealand from the home team’s balcony. The former England captain, 45, was hospitalised last December after he suffered facial injuries in an accident while shooting for Top Gear at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey. The all-rounder, who played in 79 Tests and 141 one-day matches for England, has kept a low profile since. But on Friday he was pictured in England coaching kit on the home balcony. Flintoff is a close friend of England managing director Rob Key and is set to be with the squad for the remainder of the series. The PA news agency understands the role is unpaid. The injuries from Flintoff’s Top Gear crash, which brought the filming of series 34 to a halt, appeared evident on his face. A statement from BBC Studios earlier this year said it had ‘concluded its investigation into the accident at the Top Gear Test Track in Surrey last December, which regrettably injured presenter Freddie Flintoff’. It continued: ‘We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery. Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34 of Top Gear at this time. ‘We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year. This has also impacted the production team, who we continue to support.’ Flintoff ended his international career in 2009 after helping England to an Ashes series victory over Australia before he retired from all forms of the game in 2015. He went on to launch a career in broadcasting, including featuring on Sky’s ‘A League Of Their Own’ and BBC’s Top Gear.