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Andrew Flintoff quits as Northern Superchargers coach after pay row with SRH owners

Akshita Patel

Andrew Flintoff out of The Hundred [Source: @northernsuperchargers/Instagram]Andrew Flintoff out of The Hundred [Source: @northernsuperchargers/Instagram]

Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has parted ways with The Hundred team Northern Superchargers after a pay dispute with their new owners, Sun Group, the same company that owns Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

Flintoff, one of England’s most popular cricketers and an Ashes hero, had led the Superchargers to a strong turnaround over the last two seasons. 

Under him, the Leeds-based side went from being bottom of the table to reaching the Eliminator this year. 

Andrew Flintoff at loggerheads with SRH owners

But his time with the Northern Superchargers has come to an end, not because of performance, but because of a disagreement over salary. 

Speaking on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, Andrew Flintoff revealed that while he wanted to continue, the offer he received from the new management was far below that of other head coaches’ pay.

“Unfortunately, I’m not going to do it, which is sad. The past two years I felt we were building something really nice and I’d have loved to see it through. We’ve got new owners. I spoke to them. They phoned up, they said they wanted us to do it, so I said: ‘Yeah, fine. Make us an offer.' I genuinely don’t do it for the money, although it’s nice, but I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the [salary of] other head coaches," Flintoff said.

The Sun Group, owner of IPL’s SRH franchise, recently took 100% control of Northern Superchargers after buying out Yorkshire’s 51% stake. The group also owns Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa’s SA20 league. In a statement, a Sun Group spokesperson claimed they had actually offered Flintoff a raise.

“We had discussions with Freddie and extended an offer, which was an increase over his current salary at Northern Superchargers. While we would have loved to have him on board, we respect his decision,” a franchise spokesperson said.

Interestingly, the Sun Group also has Daniel Vettori under its umbrella as head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad, while Vettori currently coaches another Hundred team, Birmingham Phoenix.

That being said, with his reputation rising fast and teams like Manchester Originals (soon to be Manchester Supergiants) and Trent Rockets possibly looking for new head coaches, Andrew Flintoff might not be out of work for long.