My Sport: Andrew Flintoff (3 Aug 1998)

3 August 1998

My Sport: Andrew Flintoff

Interview by Gareth A Davies.

Earliest sporting memory: Watching my Dad play local league cricket for Dutton Forshaw in Preston. Around the same time, when I was six years old, I also remember playing in my first match. It was for the club's under-14 side when they were a man short. I had no whites, played in a tracksuit, got sent out to field on the boundary and was out first ball.

Sports played: 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.

Sports watched: Mainly football and boxing. I still support Preston North End, but I also like Liverpool, and go to see them when I can. I did some padwork and gym training a couple of years ago with an ex-boxer who I played cricket with. I'm not a fighter myself, though. It's good for cricket because it gives you fast handspeed and fast feet. I'm thinking of doing boxing training again this winter, especially as we are now on 12-month contracts. Maybe I'll get some of the other lads from Lancashire to come down with me. 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.

Sporting heroes: I have no heroes as such, but there are plenty of sportsmen I admire. In boxing, Tyson and Muhammad Ali; in football, Ian Rush, John Barnes and Tom Finney; in rugby league, Steve Hampson who played for Wigan and Great Britain.

Are you happy with your treatment in the media, such as being labelled 'the new Botham': I don't take much notice. Obviously, I'd like to be as successful as Ian Botham was, but if I'm doing anything, I'm doing it as myself. I know Botham was a great entertainer - I've watched videos of him playing - but in my mind I don't go out there to entertain, but to get runs. If I get runs in an entertaining fashion - then great. I like to approach batting with the idea of getting on top of bowlers, and being aggressive. I don't want to be dominated by them.

Most memorable sporting experience: Making my debut in the last Test match against South Africa at Trent Bridge. A great five days. It was unbelievable. I never expected to be picked, then I was happy to be in the squad of 13, but to walk out on that first day was a fantastic feeling.

Can you remember your county debut: 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.

Worst sporting experience: A loss of form in the summer of 1996. It was a bad season. I was dropped from the under-19 side - and justifiably so. I wasn't bowling at the time, because of an injury, but I could bat. Now, if I have problems, I try to focus on the good things I can do, be confident, move forward, attack the ball, and remember how it felt to be in good form.

Sporting mentor: My father, Colin, and my brother, Chris, who is four years older than me, were a great help to me when I was younger. My Dad showed me the basics and would run me around, my brother was always with me in the nets. Peter Sleep has also been a great help to me at Lancashire.

Why did you decide on a career in cricket: It's all I ever wanted to do. I played for Lancashire from under-11 through to under-16, and I left school at 16 after my GCSEs when Lancashire offered me a three-year contract.

Favourite sporting location: Lord's, but I've never played there. I was 12th man for England against Pakistan and India while they were on tour a few summers back.

Sporting event you would pay the most to watch: The World Cup final of 1966, or the classic Ali v Foreman fights.

... and to miss: I'm not so keen on tennis. With most sports, I'd rather be playing than watching.

How well do you think cricket is covered in the media: I'm not really a big reader of the newspapers. I can't sit still long enough.

Best batsman/best bowler in the world: Sachin Tendulkar is an awesome batsman with unbelievable shot selection. Wasim Akram is the bowler. He's something different and is on to you before you know it, even though he doesn't seem to be charging in.

Greatest change you would like to see in the running of cricket: Longer lunch-breaks. An hour-and-a-half would be about right, to let your food settle. Seriously though, I don't really think I'm in a position to judge that because I haven't been playing that long.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)