Freddie Flintoff walks out onto a huge pitch. "When I look back on my life," he says, "I think, 'If I didn't have cricket, what would I have done? Who would I be?'... But the fact is, you've got to be lucky or privileged to play... It shouldn't be like that."

This is the opening of the first series of Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams. Launched in July 2022, it showed him returning to his home town, PrestonA city in Lancashire in the north of England. . His aim was to build a cricket team out of local teenagers.

Most had never played cricket, because only 5.5% of pupils at state schoolsUntil the 1870 Elementary Education Act, all schools in England and Wales were charitable or privately funded. have it in their timetable.¹

Those who turned up for the training sessions often had either ADHDAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a mental health condition that can cause above-normal levels of energetic and impulsive behaviours. or autismA condition characterised by difficulty in social interaction and communication. According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 160 children has an autism disorder.. But within months, Flintoff managed to put together a decent team.

Flintoff had another aim. He wanted to show that being in a cricket team could help people realise their potential in life.

The show got such good reviews that a second series was commissionedDirected someone to make something or complete a task. . This time Flintoff had a bigger challenge: taking the team on tour to India.

But then disaster struck. While testing a car for Top Gear, Flintoff had an accident which left him with serious injuries.

But, he said, "Got to look at the positive: I'm still here... And I'm seeing that as how it is, a second go. The India trip is going to be just as much for me as it is for them now."²

In India the players had to deal with a very different country. Their eyes were opened to lives even poorer than their own. Afterwards they spoke of how much their lives had changed.

Josh, who is autistic, has started his own business. Adnan, a refugeePeople who are forced from their countries because war or persecution. from AfghanistanA mountainous Asian country, slightly larger than France, whose neighbours include Pakistan, Iran and China., is now well on his way to becoming a professional cricketer. Eli, who left school without any GCSEsNational exams taken by 15 and 16-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. , has trained to be a sports coach. Ben is beginning a teaching career after taking an English class for Indian orphans.

Can we all learn resilience?

Yes: The more you have to face difficult situations, the more you will be able to cope with them. In the words of the philosopher Friedrich NietzscheA 19th-Century German philosopher., "That which does not kill me makes me stronger".

No: It requires a mental toughness which you either possess or do not. If Freddie Flintoff were not an exceptional person he would not have made such an impressive recovery from his car crash.

Or... ResilienceThe quality of toughness and flexibility that enables you to bounce back after setbacks. comes from a variety of things, some of which you have control over - for example, how much exercise you take - and some of which you do not, like having a sympathetic family.