Andrew Flintoff

“I have a Harley and a Bourget, which I enjoy taking into the countryside.”

“I love Britain, but I've only been to the obvious places.”

“I like spending time away with the family.”

“I've got quite a lot of energy in me and a lot of pent-up aggression. I'm like a dog. I need walking.”

“Throughout my career, in cricket and beyond, I've been incredibly lucky with my marriage. I met Rachael in 2002, and that was the year my England career kicked on. Everything started to click.”

“It is one thing being scrutinised for playing a bad shot as a batsman or bowling a bad spell as a bowler, but the captaincy adds an extra dimension. The criticism is slightly harder to take.”

“Ambition is a funny thing. In cricket, as in many professions, it tends to take you on a journey away from where you started. That's fine, maybe inevitable. But no one ever tells you that the biggest days aren't always the best days. And the richest prizes aren't the ones you remember.”

“I actually love the Discovery Channel.”

“You're never prepared for the end of a career.”

“Now, I have a confession to make. I hate warm-ups with a passion. Worst part of the whole day. Nonsense, they are.”

“In boxing, Mike Tyson fascinates me. The attitude and confidence that he could not be beaten when he was heavyweight champion of the world was interesting. He came across as very mild-mannered, and much of what he said made sense.”

“Looking back, I feel for the missus. She used to get the worst of me.”

“There have always been two people jostling for control of my life, two totally opposite characters. The first one is super-confident, bulletproof, a showman, and an extrovert. He tries to make people laugh, messes about, gets into trouble, shrugs it off. The other character is withdrawn and reflective.”

“If you're in a helicopter, and you hover, why does the Earth not come to you if it's round?”

“Why, if we're hurtling through space, why would water stay still? Why is it not wobbling?”

“I'm not that good at cards.”

“Success isn't about things we acquire.”

“I take the same Timberland holdall wherever I go, stuffed with all my gear. Or a Louis Vuitton weekender my wife bought me. I'd never have a bag that you wheel; they get in the way.”

“I am actually learning to enjoy bowling, and I never thought I'd say that. I didn't enjoy it in the past because it hurt. It hurt my back or my ankle.”

“I like being out on the cricket field and performing and playing in front of a crowd. I find it quite tricky when there are press photographers outside my house. It's all very bizarre.”