Andrew Flintoff's first foray falls flat as Hundred's tough sell continues

Andrew Flintoff was poker-faced in the dugout at Headingley as his Northern Superchargers side fell to a heavy defeat in their opening match of the Hundred. The 47-run margin flattered them: they lost 7 for 30 in 29 balls in their chase, and Trent Rockets were so dominant that they did not even see the need to drag Flintoff back onto the outfield by taking a strategic timeout.

It took a 57-run eighth-wicket partnership between Ben Dwarshuis and Matthew Potts to give the scorecard a facade of respectability and avoid the ignominy of the heaviest defeat in the Hundred's brief history. By the time Dwarshuis slapped the final ball to mid-off, much of the 12,857-strong crowd had filtered out of the stands and back towards Leeds city centre.

This was an unexpectedly low-key first match as head coach for Flintoff, covered in person by only one national newspaper and bumped off Sky Sports' Main Event channel, midway through the first innings, by Wigan Warriors against Warrington Wolves. He continued to keep a low profile and is yet to speak publicly since his appointment nine months ago - although he did sign every autograph requested by the hundreds of children who hung around for him.

"He just wants to bring a bit of fun and joy," Matt Short, Superchargers' stand-in captain, said. "There was a bit of chaos in the last couple of days, but he said, 'we're here now: just go out there, enjoy yourself, back yourself and play with that positivity - and be fearless.' It's definitely a thing we want to stick to in this tournament: being fearless and taking the game on."

The "chaos" came in the form of an availability crisis which meant the Superchargers were always up against it. Jason Roy (shoulder) and Reece Topley (finger) were injured, Mitchell Santner was at Major League Cricket, Harry Brook and Ben Stokes were with England at Edgbaston. So too, less expectedly, was Dillon Pennington, who was retained in the Test squad as cover (in case of a concussion) after West Indies won the toss in the third Test and bowled first.

Pennington's absence meant a last-minute scramble for a short-term replacement, with Michael Jones being called up on the morning of the game while training with Durham. As Jones headed down the A1(M) to Leeds, Potts found himself stuck in traffic on the M1 on his way up from Birmingham.

Nicholas Pooran's arrival was even more chaotic. Barely 24 hours after his side, MI New York, were knocked out of Major League Cricket, he arrived at the Superchargers' hotel after spending the night on a transatlantic flight. Pooran told Short, their stand-in captain, over breakfast that his luggage and kitbag were still in transit, prompting yet more chaos.

He found some bats thanks to Manchester Originals' Phil Salt, who uses the same sponsor and has the same specifications, which were then chauffeured across the Pennines in an Uber. His subsequent innings - 10 off 15 balls, caught at mid-off trying to hit Chris Green over his head for six - cannot have been what Flintoff had in mind in March, when he made Pooran his first draft pick on a £125,000 contract.

The teams are into their fourth seasons but for some, the connection to the region they represent feels increasingly tenuous, in spite of the ECB's stated aim to ramp up the "tribalism" of the tournament. The Superchargers fielded a single Yorkshire player, Adil Rashid, while Adam Lyth -- who has scored more T20 runs at Headingley than anyone else -- was booed as he walked past the Western Terrace in his Rockets gear.

The Hundred has been sold as 'best vs best' but the first four men's games this year have been a mess, all deeply one-sided. The overlap with MLC - and a Test match - have meant a series of last-minute replacements, often on one-match deals: good luck explaining to a young Rockets fan enthused by Green's performance on debut that he will not be there next week.

It is hardly Flintoff's fault that so many players were otherwise engaged, not least after their wooden-spoon 2023 season which necessitated a rebuild. Even still, it must have been galling to watch Tom Banton, one of the players the Superchargers released, top-scoring for the Rockets and looking back to his flamboyant best during his 38-ball 66.

This was a tough night for Short as captain too, as he struggled for bowling options after Jordan Clark's first five balls went for 21. He resorted to bringing himself on, but by that stage the Rockets had two right-handers set in Banton and Sam Hain: his set of fast, flat offbreaks cost 19. With the bat, their collapse to spin was galling: 41 for 0 off 24 balls turned into 71 for 7 off 63.

Short suggested that Flintoff is unlikely to overreact to a poor start. "It's certainly not crisis meetings at this stage," he said. "He wants to bring a fun environment… if guys are having fun and feel like they're enjoying themselves, that's when we play our best cricket. It's his first gig as a head coach, and he's keen to help the boys where he can and have a bit of fun."

But it only took a glance at Flintoff's opposite number to reinforce the fact that this is a huge step-up for a man with minimal coaching experience. As Flintoff strode out at the strategic timeout in the first innings, Andy Flower - perhaps the most sought-after coach on the franchise circuit - headed out to the middle to speak to the Rockets' batters.

Flower was Flintoff's coach during his final England appearance back in 2009, and is among a stellar list of names involved in the men's Hundred: Stephen Fleming, Tom Moody and Mike Hussey among them. Everyone has to start somewhere, but this defeat was a reminder of the scale of the task facing Flintoff over the next four weeks.