Lancashire's 16-year-old batter, Rocky Flintoff, will be sidelined for the first part of the County Championship season due to a lumbar stress reaction. The young cricketer felt discomfort in his back during pre-season and is now being rested to avoid further injury and undergo rehabilitation. Flintoff, the son of former England captain and all-rounder Andrew, made his first-class debut last season and has since played five first-class matches and seven List A games for Lancashire. In January, he scored a century for England Lions against a Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane, following up on his achievement of becoming the youngest player to hit a century for England Under-19s last summer. His older brother Corey, 19, signed a two-year rookie contract with Kent last month. Lancashire have seven County Championship Division Two fixtures before the mid-season break on 27 May.