Andrew Flintoff

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 was a professional cricketer for 16 years.

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.

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.

You're never prepared for the end of a career.

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

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.

Throughout my career, in cricket and beyond, I've been incredibly lucky with my marriage. I met Rachael in 2002, and that was the year my England career kicked on. Everything started to click.

I thought my dream job was to play cricket.

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.

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.

If you're in a helicopter, and you hover, why does the Earth not come to you if it's round?