Rocky Flintoff, son of Ashes icon Andrew, became the youngest cricketer to score a hundred for England Under-19s on day three of the second Youth Men’s Test against Sri Lanka at Cheltenham’s College Ground.
With his father watching on from the stands, the 16-year-old scored a classy 106 (181) to help England post 477 and secure a first-innings lead of 324.
The right-hander, who struck nine fours and two sixes, combined with captain Hamza Shaikh (107 off 211 balls) for a 121-run partnership for the fifth wicket before adding a further 78 with wicketkeeper Jack Carney.
After reaching triple figures in 178 deliveries, Flintoff punched the air in celebration and removed his helmet to salute his teammates. He was dismissed a few deliveries later, holing out towards long-on while facing Sri Lankan leg-spinner Praveen Maneesha.
The previous youngest cricketer to score a century for England Under-19s was Ian Bell, who achieved the feat at 16 years and 313 days against New Zealand in February 1999.
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“He’s a lovely lad around the group, but when it comes to his batting and fielding, he switches on,” England Under-19 coach Michael Yardy said.
“He’s a normal teenage lad around the group, but when he gets out in the middle he’s more like a 25-year-old.
“Rocky scored a hundred against the invitation XI and really celebrated and that’s what you want. You want it to mean something to players. Whenever you represent your country and make a hundred, it should feel special.
“He’s a young lad and we want him to show that passion, desire and emotion when they do something special. He did that today and it will mean even more to him because his parents were on the ground to see him do it.”
Earlier this summer, Flintoff became the youngest cricketer to score a century for Lancashire second XI, toppling a record his father set 30 years ago.
England’s Under-19 team also features Archie Vaughan, son of former Test captain Michael, along with Jaydn Denly, nephew of Joe, who played 44 matches for England between 2009 and 2020.
Sri Lanka is 7-246 at stumps on day three, still trailing by 78 runs.
Source Agencies
