Top 50 Andrew Flintoff Quotes

Now, I am not saying that the world is flat, but it could be.

I’m gradually getting rid of all the things I don’t need.

I remember, when Paul Collingwood first came into the dressing room, we did everything together. We practised together, trained together, had dinner together; we batted together and did well in games together – we were thick as thieves. When he got established, he just binned me.

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.

I thought my dream job was to play cricket.

I would never bet against a side I’m playing in. I’d never bet against myself, ever.

I’ve had a go at captaincy. Batting and bowling and captaincy turned out to be a bit too much.

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.

When I was younger, I played football and table tennis for local teams. I also played mini-rugby at primary school – I was tall for my age – and Preston Grasshoppers wanted me, but I wasn’t that interested in rugby. It was always going to be cricket for me.

When I retired first time around, injury had beaten me, and I hated that. Now I realise I’m no longer good enough. And I can handle that. It’s fine that I’m not good enough.

They’re strange, the Aussies. Because if they like you, they say, ‘Oh, he’s an Aussie.’ And I keep saying, ‘I’m not, I’m from Preston.’ There’s nothing Australian about me. Don’t start claiming me just because I’ve got a job over here.

If I get runs in an entertaining fashion, then great. I like to get on top of bowlers and be aggressive. I don’t want to be dominated by them. Hopefully people enjoy the way I play.

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.

I love Britain, but I’ve only been to the obvious places.

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.

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.

I can easily go up to 19 stone or so if I’m not careful.

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

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 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 seen material competitiveness destroy relationships in dressing rooms. People end up worrying about what someone else is earning and whether they’re missing out.

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.

The one thing we need to do to continue to maintain Test cricket as being special is cutting down the amount and make it a real occasion rather than playing one after another.

Sometimes, there’s a fine line between bravery and utter stupidity. The day I decided to climb into a boxing ring for a professional fight was probably on the side of stupidity.

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 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.

Success isn’t about things we acquire.

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 at my family today, I think, ‘I could not have done any better.’ That’s one thing I have got right.

I’ve been to a lot of places to play cricket, but cricket and training get in the way! In India, all you see is the hotel and the cricket ground.

I love music more than I love sport.

North of England, you’re brought up on fish and chips. Friday or Saturdays every week, it was a treat.

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 had time with my family, which was great, but I am a cricketer, and once that was taken away from me, it was as though part of me wasn’t there.

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

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

Old Trafford – as a cricket ground, I love playing there. It’s a second home for me; I’ve been going there since I was young. It just feels right there.

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

I was just 17 when I made my debut for Lancashire against Hampshire at Portsmouth. I got seven and a duck. I didn’t get a wicket, either. Funnily enough, it was more nerve-wracking than playing for England.

I always wanted to captain the teams I played in.

I don’t suck up to anyone or do any of that. I point-blank refuse. I just hate it.

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

Reverse swing is a great asset if it happens.

It was an old cricket coach who started calling me Fred – as in Flintstone. There are far worse things to be called in the dressing room.

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

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.

Maybe it’s the sportsman in me, but if it is going to be television, I want to be the best I can be.

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.

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

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.