LV= INSURANCE PRIDE OF CRICKET AWARDS 2023 - LV= YOUNG HERO WINNER: After Freddie had to retire with leg pain during his very first Gloucester CC 1st XI match, it was a physio at his school who first twigged that this was more than a muscular issue
"I was looking at photos the other day: there's a picture of Fred asleep with his cricket ball and his fingers round it in a bowling grip. That sums Fred up. Cricket has run through his blood since a young age. It's everything to him."
There's no doubt that 17-year-old Freddie Collinson is a cricket obsessive. As a county cricketer since the age of nine and with a place on Gloucestershire's Emerging Player Programme, a bright future in the game was certainly on the cards.
That was until he was given the earth-shattering diagnosis in September 2020 that he had a rare bone cancer in his right tibia called Ewing's Sarcoma.
After Freddie had to retire early with leg pain during his very first Gloucester CC 1st XI match, it was a physio at his school who first twigged that this was more than a mere muscular problem. His dad took him for an X-ray and the radiographer soon picked up that the problem was serious.
"I had a call from the school asking us to go in to meet with a consultant," says Sarah Collinson, Fred's mum. "We went into a children's oncology ward and were given the devastating news that it was bone cancer. Everything just stops and goes into slow motion - you're absolutely staggered."
That was the start of Freddie enduring hours in MRI scans, biopsies, multiple hospital stays, eight months of chemotherapy, and surgeries that included the insertion of a donor tibia.
Freddie Collinson has been a cricket obsessive for most of his life [supplied]
Needless to say, it brought a crashing halt to Freddie's burgeoning cricket career. Watching everybody else play while he was unable to was a hard pill to swallow. But that didn't stop him staying involved and dreaming about what the future may hold.
"When I was back at school in 2022, watching and scoring just made me want to get back to it even more," says Freddie. "And that was what has made me better now than I was before, because I had that desire to get back to playing and be as good as I can."
Skip forward to April this year and the physio signed a cancer-free Freddie off to play again. Things certainly weren't easy at first.
"The start of the season was tough. It was my first few months running again. Batting at the crease was perfectly fine, but running in the middle was pretty hard.
Freddie during his treatment for bone cancer [supplied]
"When I got into the 20s, 30s, 40s, I would tire very quickly and my leg would let me down as I know I could have scored so many more runs.
"But as the season progressed I could feel my leg also progressing and running became as fluent as it was before. The last few weeks of playing cricket have been perfect. I scored my first ever hundred for our club twos, which was my first adult game back – that was really good!"
Freddie's cancer journey inspired his close friends and teammates to help raise the profile of the little-known Ewing's Sarcoma. And that's not all they raised, with a 24-hour net session and 100-mile bike ride bringing in almost £25,000 for the Ewing's Sarcoma Research Trust, Bone Cancer Research Trust and Molly Olly's, a charity that grants wishes to children with life threatening conditions.
Characteristically humble, Freddie played down the individual aspect of his award, focusing on the bigger picture and those around him that have helped throughout.
"When I found out [that I'd been nominated], I was a bit shocked. I'm grateful for it, as it will also raise awareness for Ewing's Sarcoma. More people will get to know about it, so it's bigger than just me.
Freddie in action [supplied]
"I'd really like to thank the sports coaches at school – Mr Kimber and Mr Taylor – who during the rugby and football season when I was sat doing nothing, getting me in the gym and getting me back moving really helped for the cricket season that was up and coming."
Which leaves mum to sing his praises: "As a family we're immensely proud. He's done so well in such a relatively short period of time.
"He only came out of the boot last May. To be up running – and running better now – in the middle is phenomenal. We will always remain very proud of him whatever he goes on to do. He's a star."
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