Quotes from Andrew Flintoff

I was great mates with Muttiah Muralitharan, dating back to the days when we both played together at Lancashire.

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 like the look of all-rounder Ben Stokes. I usually have no interest in comparing new players with myself, but there are some interesting parallels here.

My bats were brilliant. The shape of them changed, and towards the end of my career, they got a little bit bigger.

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

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

As a cricketer, I played on bravado and character. My personality was bound up with how I played the game.

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

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.

I always wanted to captain the teams I played in.

I'm not that good at cards.

There are of course mornings when you wouldn't mind a lie in.

I'll take my iPod - though I'm not very good with gadgets to be honest - and that has everything I like.

That means I can drive a flock of sheep through the town centre, drink for free in no less than 64 pubs and get a lift home with the police when I become inebriated. What more could you want?

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.

Reverse swing is a great asset if it happens.

It annoys me when I phone a hotel receptionist in my own country, and they don't understand what I am saying because they don't speak English. I think that's wrong. It's nothing to do with being politically correct or incorrect; it's just not right.

I enjoy playing Test cricket, especially against India in India.

With the cricket, I knew what I was doing - to a degree.

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.

We always gave one-day cricket respect as players, definitely.