Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams: A hugely optimistic hour which reveals exactly what Whitney and Freddie have in common

And on the basis of the new, third, series of Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams, subtitled Ultimate Test, you can't help agreeing with them.

It's a hugely satisfying, optimistic, hopeful watch but it also leaves you with no illusions as to the scale of the problems facing the younger generation at a time in which our leaders seem so determined to stuff things up for them.

After creating a cricket team from a rag-tag bunch of lads in his home town of Preston, and taking them on tour to India, Flintoff now hopes to expand the project across the north west, possibly even creating a league of similar teams, all giving young people a chance to play a sport, giving them a chance to be part of something bigger than themselves.

His previous team has been a success, not just in terms of sporting endeavour, but also in terms of their wider lives.

They have found jobs and homes and purpose in life. As Flintoff says, with paternal pride, they're “a lovely group of lads”.

And they're similarly enthusiastic about Flintoff's dreams of widening the project.

Sean, previously a tearaway with a short attention span and a shorter fuse, now has a steady job, and wiser head on his still-young shoulders. But he is infected with the cricketing legend's optimism: “Yeah, it's Fred. He can do anything.”

And that sense of optimism, the idea that passion for your project and infinite patience can create something worthwhile, infects the entire programme.

So Flintoff heads off to Bootle, which has some of the most deprived areas in the country, with boarded-up shops and derelict homes, and very little to direct the energy of young people away from pot and street corners.

So he goes to the local cricket club and he and his team of coaches head out to a local pupil referral unit, which teaches kids which have been excluded from mainstream schools or have serious behavioural problems.

Initially dismissive, they don't necessarily fall in love with the game, but importantly they keep turning up, the keep having a go, they keep trying.

This is not to say there aren't problems, and you wonder how much of the effort is distorted by the presence of the TV cameras and the imposing charisma of Flintoff himself.

Kyle Hogg, who acts as Flintoff's assistant, was no mean cricketer himself, playing championship cricket with Lancashire, and taking almost 300 first-class wickets.

But the Bootle lads are blithely unaware of this and give him a tough time, by the end of which Hogg is threatening them with a 'wait til Freddie gets back', as if he's the dad of a particularly dysfunctional family.

And what do you know? When Flintoff is around, behaviour dramatically improves.

In Blackpool, meanwhile, Flintoff determines to create an all-girls' team and initially finds it an easier job. More girls turn up to practice at South Shore cricket club, and discipline is vastly better – although Flintoff is all at sea when asked about nails or TikTok dances.

But the cricketer-turned -TV host-turned cricket coach never lets his optimism waver, and you can feel how his commitment, energy and dedication can quickly become an irresistible force.

“These could be the ones who light a spark for a new generation of girl cricketers,” he says of his nascent Blackpool team.

And Field of Dreams leaves you feeling that spark could soon become a wildfire. As Whitney once sang, 'treat them well, and let them lead the way'.