A biography for Andrew Flintoffhasn’t been written yet.
“Playing for England was always something I dreamt of and, of course, you then think of the captaincy. It was something I never thought I would be offered, especially after the way I started my career. But when it came along, I was very keen to have a go.”
“I rate myself as a driver, but I think everybody does.”
“It was two different worlds: my world - cricket, the dressing room and the lads. And then family. Even when they travelled with me, it wasn't always easy to bridge the gap.”
“I can easily go up to 19 stone or so if I'm not careful.”
“I thought my dream job was to play cricket.”
“I would try monoskiing, but the problem is my dodgy knee's on my right side, and my bad ankle's on my left, so I can't really use either.”
“I can remember all the bad games and rubbish shots I've played far more than all my successes. Luckily, as I've got older, I've got better at dealing with that. What's the point of regrets? They don't change anything.”
“I am not a big fan of hockey.”
“Apart from the occasional bit of dad dancing, I really can't dance.”
“I never really felt I belonged; there was always a sense of apartness. At school, I was the cricketer.”
“I like going down the pub with my mates and horse racing. I don't do anything that exciting.”
“One of the reasons why you want to play cricket is to play in front of big crowds, and in India, it is the perfect place to do that. The atmosphere here is like no other place in the world. Having experienced it once, you want to keep coming back.”
“I would like to be as successful as Ian Botham was, but if I'm doing anything, I'm doing it as myself.”
“I flew to Los Angeles to interview Vinnie Jones and Piers Morgan for the BBC and spent 11 hours in economy on BA, and the leg room was fine. In business class, Virgin, BA, and Emirates are good. I've flown business class on Kingfisher, which has proper couches.”
“My bats were brilliant. The shape of them changed, and towards the end of my career, they got a little bit bigger.”
“In my early England days, there was a bit of tension with captain Nasser Hussain.”
“Now, I am not saying that the world is flat, but it could be.”
“I have no problems with a multicultural society; I think that is to the benefit of the country. But you have to be careful what levels you take it to.”
“I love music more than I love sport.”
“We always gave one-day cricket respect as players, definitely.”