With dramatic music in the background, we see one of England's greatest all-rounders walking out onto an enormous pitch. "When I look back on my life," says Freddie Flintoff, "I think, 'If I didn't have cricket, what would I have done? Who would I be?' I can't even imagine a life without it. 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. , to build a cricket team out of some very unpromising material.

Locals were deeply sceptical. People in Preston, they explained, were only interested in soccer and rugby. A sports shop Flintoff visited did not even sell cricket bats.

Most of the teenagers he tried to recruit had never tried playing cricket - or even watched it. This reflects the fact that only 5.5% of pupils at state schools have the sport as part of their timetable.¹

Finding potential players was not the only challenge. Many of the teenagers who turned up for the training sessions had ADHDAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a mental health condition that can cause above-normal levels of energetic and impulsive behaviours. and 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 team that could make a decent display against a local private schoolA school that pupils must pay to go to. .

Winning, though, was not the sole aim. Flintoff wanted to show what being in a cricket team could do to build character and help people realise their potential in life.

The programme received rave reviews. In The New Statesman, Rachel Cooke called it "the most stirring thing I've seen on television in years: a show I can't watch without crying".

A second series was commissioned. This time there was to be an even bigger challenge: taking the team on tour to India.

But then disaster struck. While testing a car for Top Gear, Flintoff had a terrible accident which left him with severe facial injuries. "I struggle with anxietyA feeling of unease or worry. It can be mild or very severe., I have nightmares, I have flashbacks. It's been so hard to cope with," he said.²

But, he added, "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."

The On Tour series added a further dimension to the programme. The team players had to deal with a very different country where their eyes were opened to lives even poorer than their own. In the Daily Telegraph, Alan Tylers called it "essential viewing".

The players spoke of how much their lives had changed. "We are all totally different people," said Finn, who has autism. "I think the show downplayed how much of an effect it had on us."

Josh, who is also autistic, has started his own business. Adnan, a refugeePeople who are forced from their countries because war or persecution. from Afghanistan, is now 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 embarking on 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... Resilience 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.