Andrew Flintoff

“The thing with sledging is it very rarely goes well. Usually, if I was sledging, I was struggling.”

“I don't play for money. I'm not sure I even can play just for money. Money is great; I can't lie about that.”

“I've thrived on people writing me off. Because if you write me off, I'll shut you up.”

“My school was pretty tough, and I played football there so I would be accepted, to save myself a kicking.”

“I wish I'd walked out of 'The Tourist' with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. I said to the missus after two minutes, 'He's her husband.' An hour and a half's worth of nonsense later, the big twist at the end is... he's her husband.”

“Cricket was deemed too posh where I came from, and I'd never have risked walking home through the estates in my whites. My club played some of the posh schools. I'd have the cheapest kit, but I loved those games. As soon as the posh lads opened their mouths and you heard their accents, the stakes were raised.”

“I took my wife to a really expensive hotel in Dubai. This was when we were first dating, so I wanted to impress her. I had scallops, and after that, I went to the bathroom to be sick. I realised I had just paid £300 or £400 on scallops just to throw it up. My wife and I then talked about it; I knew I had a problem.”

“I'll be fine, and suddenly I'll feel the depression coming on. It can start with the smallest thing.”

“My father, Colin, and my brother, Chris, who is four years older than me, were a great help to me when I was younger.”

“India - I've always felt at home there. Delhi and Mumbai and the Taj Mahal are all incredible - but it's the people I love. Indians are so interesting and accommodating and friendly. The best hotel I've stayed at there is the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur: its architecture is unbelievable.”

“I worked behind the record counter at Woolworths when I was 16. It was when Oasis' 'Definitely Maybe' came out and The Verve were getting big. I'd have probably worked my way up to store manager if I'd have stuck around.”

“I was a professional cricketer for 16 years.”

“I do sometimes like a bit of cheese, like MC Hammer.”

“Since leaving cricket, I've tried my hand at professional boxing, a live stage show, and working for TV. I've had some interesting experiences, including working with the former basketball player Dennis Rodman.”

“I grew up watching 'Corrie,' and I still watch it whenever I can. It's got everything - drama, humour, and great characters. I used to watch it even when I was living in Dubai.”

“When you get offered the captaincy, you've got to have a go. In India, where it went well, I was playing well ,and anything that needed doing, I'd do it myself. When I wasn't playing well, it was tough.”

“Cricket kept me away from trouble.”

“'Top Gear' is one of those shows that you'd love to do.”

“I've been offered all the usual, 'Strictly Come Dancing' and the like, but the one thing I know is that for me to be good, I've got to absolutely love doing something. And you can't dance the foxtrot half-hearted.”

“Some players like to practise right up to the start of play. But for me, whatever warming up I did was only going to be followed by cooling down again.”