Figuring Freddie: Andrew Flintoff, the Ashes and English national identity

Abstract

This article examines the media portrayal of Flintoff during that 2009 Ashes series. The paper argues that sport provides contemporary societies with the celebrities which best represent national identities and attributes. Amongst sports, cricket provides the archetypal representation of Englishness, and amongst cricketing events a home series against Australia provides the most meaningful contests and the most acute illustration of cricketing identities. In 2009, Flintoff and the Ashes therefore coincided to produce a particularly useful lens to view English national identity and thus the article focuses on three media narratives that became prominent in the summer of 2009: the interdependence of Flintoff and the Ashes, the relationship between Flintoff and English national identity and the relationship between the media's identification of Flintoff's character traits and contemporary conceptions of English national identity. The conclusion notes that Flintoff was constructed as a composite celebrity, combining notions of rural nostalgia with more modern passionate, carnivalesque Englishness. The study therefore elaborates on the connection between Englishness and cricket, details the characteristics of Englishness emphasized by the contemporary press and, ultimately, argues that the convergence of these narratives upon an individual celebrity – Flintoff – has specific consequences for contemporary society.