Flintoff, Vaughan and newest gift from 2005 Ashes: their children

There is a long history of the sons of former cricketers also making a name for themselves in the game. There have been 13 father-son partnerships to play for England and many more who have both played first-class cricket.
The Cowdrey, Butcher, Stewart, Broad, Sidebottom and Bairstow families have all had a father and son play for England. And now there are some more familiar surnames emerging in county cricket — sons or nephews of the 2005 Ashes generation.
There are a number of reasons for this. Talent and ability are clearly the biggest factors, but also access to the game and, in many cases, attending a school at which there is high-quality cricket and coaching.
The Hundred has also played a part since its inception in 2021. As a result of the competition, about 90 of the best county cricketers are absent from their teams for most of August, making way for younger, developing players to feature in the 50-over One-Day Cup, and this year we have seen debuts for some emerging prospects with recognisable surnames.
Of the most well-known are Archie Vaughan, son of the former England captain Michael, and Rocky Flintoff, the younger son of the former England captain and star all-rounder Andrew (Freddie).
Vaughan, like his father, is a top-order batsman who bowls more-than-handy off spin. Although the Vaughan family home is in Cheshire, Archie attended the elite Millfield School in Somerset and therefore played for the county’s age-group sides rather than for Lancashire or Yorkshire, where his dad played. After coming through the Somerset academy, the 18-year-old signed a two-year deal with the county this year, which will start on November 1 and run until the end of 2026.
• Andrew Flintoff’s son Rocky signs first Lancashire contract
“Archie is a young man with a bright future ahead of him” Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said. “Since joining the academy, he has demonstrated a genuine and strong desire to work incredibly hard and improve every facet of his game. This hard work, alongside his impressive on-field performances, have led to second-XI opportunities in which he has flourished.”
There are shades of his father in the way Vaughan bats, particularly his cover drive and back-foot drive, and he was called into the England Under-19 squad for the Youth Test against Sri Lanka in July, although did not make the final XI. His first-team debut for Somerset in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last month did not go quite to plan — he was run out without facing a ball at the non-striker’s end — but he did bowl six overs of tidy and accurate off spin.
Rocky Flintoff was selected for England Under-19 this year in the 50-over and Test formats and became the youngest ever centurion for the age-group side in the second Test against Sri Lanka. The 16-year-old played his first game for Lancashire’s second XI in April and after making an unbeaten half-century against Durham second XI and a dominant century against Warwickshire second XI, he was offered his first professional contract.
Flintoff made his first-team debut in July and the resemblance to his father when batting is uncanny. He stands so still at the crease and pulls with ease through the leg side. In scoring 88 for Lancashire against Middlesex on August 8, he recorded a maiden first-team half-century, albeit in a losing cause.
“He is still only 16 but age doesn’t come in to it really — we picked him because of his ability and he’s big and strong. There are certain players — and it’s a coaches intuition — that do need to be pushed and the higher they go, they learn very quickly and raise their game, and I feel he’s one of those players,” Dale Benkenstein, Lancashire’s head coach, said after Rocky’s debut.
“He is that good and he’s going to learn quickly, and our aim is that by the end of the One-Day Cup he’ll be winning us games. It’s about, has he got the game, is he mature enough cricket-wise? And I think he is”.
There is another Flintoff too. Corey, 18, has also come through the Lancashire academy system. He is also a right-handed all-rounder, like his brother, but has bowled a lot more. An aggressive middle-order batsman, he bowls very brisk medium pace with the potential to become an out-and-out quick.
There’s another 2005 Ashes winner’s son floating about in Charlie Harmison, son of the former England pace bowler Steve. Charlie, 17, is a fast bowler in the Northumberland set-up with close links to Durham.
While Vaughan and Flintoff retired many years ago, Jaydn Denly is playing alongside his uncle Joe — the 38-year-old former England batsman, who still plays for Kent. Jaydn, 18, is a left-handed batsman who bowls some handy left-arm spin. He has also represented England Under-19, and made his List A debut last summer in the One-Day Cup at the age of 17. He made his first-class debut in April against Essex, showing some defiance with the bat to thwart the opposition’s push for victory with an unbeaten 41 on the final day.
A look through this season’s county scorecards also shows up some other familiar names. In the North East, the 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Haydon Mustard, son of the former Durham gloveman Phil, who got 12 England caps in limited-overs formats (fun fact: Haydon was dismissed by the Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff in a club match in the North East Premier League earlier this season). Also in the Durham set-up is Mitch Killeen, the 19-year-old son of Neil, who played 102 first class and 226 List A matches for the county. Neil is now the elite pace bowling coach at the ECB.
And at Essex there is Luc Benkenstein, the son of the former South Africa international Dale, who is now the head coach at Lancashire. Luc made his debut for Essex in 2021, at the age of 16, against his dad’s former club Durham, and the following year took six wickets in the 50-over game against Glamorgan, after which he was named vice-captain of the England Under-19 squad for the World Cup at the start of 2024.
The names are familiar. They have the potential and, crucially, are getting the platform for the talent. The rest is up to them.