Charity cricket match featuring Freddie Flintoff at St Annes raises £2,000 for Alzheimer's Society

Hundreds of fans turned out at the Vernon Road ground to see the former Lancashire and England all-rounder lead a team in a charity match against St Annes past and present players in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

Flintoff, who was snapped up by Lancashire after first being spotted starring for St Annes as a schoolboy, chose to host the fundraiser match at St Annes CC in memory of his grandad Harry Hargreaves and St Annes club stalwart Brian Standing, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s prior to his death earlier this year.

Admission to the match was free, but donations were invited, with every penny going to the charity, and St Annes chairman John Cotton said the amount raised was a tribute to the public of St Annes.

The match, held in conjunction with the club’s Jubilee bank holiday beet, gin and prosecco festival, was T20 format of 20 big-hitting overs a side and there were thrills galore for the fans

John said: “We’re delighted with how it went – thanks for everyone who came along and for their donations.

"The Alzheimer’s Society is a charity very close to our hearts, a care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers.

“Brian Standing, who was our club president, and Andrew’s grandad Harry Hargreaves – two finer gentlemen you could not wish to meet – supported our senior and junior teams for many years while sitting on a bench on the boundary, merrily chatting away.”

Flintoff, now a TV presenter, previously attracted a bumper crowd to the St Annes ground in the summer of 2014 when he made a brief comeback for St Annes in the Northern League.

Last year, he made his first appearances for the club in seven years after again registering as a player and also followed in the footsteps of his grandfather by becoming club president.

Both Brian and Harry played key roles in developing Flintoff’s talent as a youngster at St Annes before he went on to star for Lancashire and England, including helping his country win the 2005 Ashes.