Teenager who showed his cricket skills in Flintoff’s TV series dies in crash

An 18-year-old who appeared in Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams BBC TV show has died following a crash.

Umar Mahmood was driving an Audi A3 Sport when it left the road and hit trees on Chain Caul Way, in Preston, at about 22:55 BST on Tuesday. A 16-year-old boy travelling in the back of the vehicle was also killed.

Mr Mahmood was one of a group of young cricketers from Lancashire who was featured on the BBC series, which finished airing earlier this month.

His former school, Penwortham Priory Academy, described him as “bright, studious and well-loved”.

The tribute said Mr Mahmood “was a young man who was always considerate to those around him and who showed ambition and kindness in all that he did”.

The academy said it was “with great sadness that we hear this news”, adding Mr Mahmood’s family would be in their “thoughts and prayers today”.

It added that Mr Mahmood, who left the school two years ago, “had a passion for geography as well as his cricket”.

Field of Dreams saw former England international Flintoff, who is from Preston, visit under-privileged parts of Lancashire to find 11 teenagers, who had not considered the sport before, to form a side.

Speaking in July 2022 about his involvement in the show, Mr Mahmood said he had enjoyed watching and playing cricket and had been selected to join Flintoff’s team while a member of the BYDS Youth Club in Preston.

“They said they wanted to do a documentary about cricket and give people like me an opportunity which I might not otherwise have,” he said in a statement, which was issued at the time by his school.

Mr Mahmood said he and his fellow young cricketers were trained by Freddie Flintoff, who was “really down to earth”, along with Kyle Hogg.

“They taught us different types of cricketing skills and it has been really good. I would say now I am a bit of an all-rounder,” he said, adding he had been interviewed a lot for the programme “and they have been to my house and interviewed my family as well”.

Lancashire Police confirmed on Wednesday that the boy travelling in the back of the car, named by the same school as Adam Bodi, had also died in the crash.

The academy also paid tribute to Adam, saying he was a popular boy with a fantastic sense of humour.

The academy sent its “heartfelt condolences to all of Adam’s family and friends”.

A 17-year-old boy remains in a stable condition in hospital.

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