England cricket legend Andrew Flintoff’s eldest son, Corey Flintoff, has signed a two-year rookie contract with Kent County. The pace-bowling all-rounder Corey, 19, rose through Lancashire’s age groups cricket and Academy; he played for the club's second XI last summer, debuting alongside his brother and Flintoff’s younger son Rocky Flintoff, against Yorkshire in April.

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Per the latest reports, Corey Flintoff has been training with Kent’s first team for the past week and even bowled four overs in their two-day warm-up match against Essex at Canterbury on Friday. However, his rookie contract allows him to make himself available for his county around his University studies for at least the next two seasons. 

Andrew Flintoff’s former teammate, Adam Hollioake, was recently appointed Kent’s new head coach. 

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"I'm delighted to be joining Kent to continue my development as a player under Adam Hollioake and the excellent coaching staff here," Corey Flintoff said. "The lads in the dressing room have been so welcoming to me this week, and there's a great atmosphere here. I'm excited for what's next for me, and I know that Kent is the right place for me to make the step up to first-team cricket." 

Kent’s Director of Cricket, Simon Cook, also lauded the youngster, saying his talent exceeds boundaries and that he has an outstanding all-round ability to score runs and pick wickets. 

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“Corey is an extremely exciting young player and has great all-round ability to score runs and take wickets,” Cook said. “He is a very hard worker, and I know that he is extremely determined to make a name for himself in professional cricket. We're delighted that he feels that he can do this as a Kent cricketer.”

Flintoff’s sons ready for the future

Even before the fans started talking about Andrew Flintoff’s eldest son, his younger one, Rocky, had already made headlines in the cricket circuit.

A promising batter, Rocky struck his first hundred in the England Lions shirt during the tour match against Cricket Australia XI at Allan Border Field in Brisbane in January this year. With that, he also became the youngest player to score a maiden hundred for England A/Lions, beating the record his father, Andrew, held at 20 years and 28 days against Kenya at Nairobi in 1998.

Meanwhile, it’s about time before Andrew’s sons make their senior team debuts and represent England across formats, carrying their father’s legacy forward.

(With inputs from agencies)