Flintoff: Ashes tour was 'booze cruise'

Eurosport - Mon, 21 Sep 15:10:00 2009

Andrew Flintoff has described the 2006-07 Ashes tour of Australia, when England were thrashed 5-0, as being like a "booze cruise".

England's Andrew Flintoff sits with a drink on the dressing room balcony after their second Ashes test cricket match against Australia at Lord's REUTERS - 0

The all-rounder, who retired from Test cricket following this year's Ashes series win, made the claim in his latest autobiography "Ashes to Ashes", serialised in the Daily Mail.

"I was the captain of a team heading for a 5-0 Ashes whitewash," wrote Flintoff, who was handed the skipper's job after Michael Vaughan was injured.

"Relationships were becoming strained...I felt massively isolated.

"The problems had really started when we were defeated in Adelaide to go 2-0 down. I was in a bit of a muddle and didn't really know how to get out of it.

"My head had gone, probably with what had happened in the Ashes. The frustration was bubbling inside of me. I exploded.

"My bat was leaning against the bench in the dressing room, and I put my foot through it and broke it - not the most intelligent thing to do.

"The upshot was I turned up for nets the next day not in the best of shape, although I wouldn't say I was as bad as coach Duncan Fletcher has said I was.

"I'm not going to try to make excuses because I know I shouldn't have arrived for training smelling of booze. It was unprofessional but it was indicative of my state of mind at the time.

"I wasn't the only one, I hasten to add, and it wasn't just the players - most of the support staff were at it more than we were. It was like being on a booze cruise."

Flintoff also gave details of the infamous "pedalo incident" during England's less than impressive 2007 World Cup campaign in the West Indies, but said he did not, as reports at the time claimed, need to be rescued.

The all rounder was stripped of his vice-captaincy in the wake of the incident which followed a late-night drinking binge.

"Not long after I arrived at the club, I realised I'd had enough to drink and slipped out - intending to walk back to the hotel," he explains.

"Instead of walking down the road, I decided it would be nicer down the beach and come into the hotel from the back. A row of kayaks caught my eye, but none of them had any oars.

"Next to them were some pedalos, and I remember dragging one to the edge of the water - presumably because I fancied a ride. But for the life of me, I couldn't work out how to get on it - or my legs into it - so I let go of it, and it quickly drifted away from the shore.

"I think I slipped and fell over in a few inches of water, but nothing more."

Flintoff played a pivotal role in England's Ashes victory under Duncan Fletcher in 2005 but said they struggled to develop a working relationship when he was captain.

"It was a case of two people who didn't get on being thrown together for eight months of the year as part of the England cricket team," he said.

"We had completely different views on life; the relationship didn't work and it came to an abrupt end after the World Cup."

Reuters

Comment 9 - 28 of 28

Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

  1. Am gannay fone Derren Broon eftar 8 thas Seterday­ nicht­ tae find oot wat lotto numburs were pict.!

    From corneilius, on Tue 22 Sep 5:31PM

  2. Tell ussomething we dont know Fred! trying to peddle­ out to Bothams party,just about sums them both up­ he's know saint either(better not go down the drugs­ and sex road eh)

    From ANDREW G, on Tue 22 Sep 4:53PM

  3. billiemct, what a stupid thing to say. freddy brings so­ much to any team he is involved in. on and off the­ field he is the driving force behind a winning­ mentality. if only all the england players could apply­ that aggression and passion to their game we would a­ superb side.unfortunately we come accross as far too­ nice.

    From jndyball, on Tue 22 Sep 1:44PM

  4. Flintoff is one of the most over-rated players of­ recent years. He had a good season in 2005, but for the­ rest his career in tests has been little better than­ mediocre. Over-reliance on him has been damaging to the­ English team as seen in the recent test series, where­ he turned in only one good batting performance and five­ wickets against tailenders. For the rest his wickets­ cost more than 50 runs a piece. It is time to move on.­ Flintoff has had his day.

    From billiemct, on Tue 22 Sep 9:57AM
  5. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    the English cricket team are a total disgrace to­ themselves and their country. The Australians go out­ for every match looking hungry to win, England? they go­ out looking like the losers they are. For our top­ batsmen to get out so often with so few runs is­ disgraceful. The whole lot should be sent back to­ their clubs and make way for others who have the desire­ and hunger to win. I have to say I am not a huge­ sports fan and only watch sport occasionally with my­ partner but, and its the same with the England­ footballers, it is blatantly obvious there is a major­ problem and they have had enough opportunities to get­ themselves sorted out and it hasn't worked. So­ move over for some players that would jump at the­ chance, there must be loads. So what if we don't­ win for a while (nothing new there our present team­ have to wait for the opposition to make a mistake to­ win, how hollow is that?). Get rid of the lot and start­ again! We have to stop living on the occasional big­ win (opponents error) and build a team for the future.

    From sue_mart56, on Tue 22 Sep 9:56AM

  6. So many sportsmen and women are boring now due to the­ high level of professionalism and the intensity of­ training, it was not that long ago when england­ footballers at the world cup had a half time cigerette­ break. It is good to see a few Characters still around­ in modern sport. The likes of freddy and then J Leonard­ from rugby ect are becoming a thing of the past, we­ need a few interesting sports men and­ women.............

    From stalin, on Tue 22 Sep 9:05AM

  7. I wonder if kicking a cricket bat is good for your­ knees?..........

    From ma_husband, on Tue 22 Sep 7:44AM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    cricket? it's a toff's game played by hooligans­ now... hilarious

    From Steven, on Tue 22 Sep 6:27AM

  9. Who cares ?

    From Mark, on Tue 22 Sep 12:26AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    This Guy is the most overhyped modern day Bobby Peel.­ who holds the record for being the worst ashes captain­ in history!At least Jonny Won't Hit Today had the­ excuse of WW1 ravages when he lost 5-0. only thing He­ Flintoff,hasn't beaten Bobby Peel at is urinating­ on the wicket!AS for the tag "All Rounder"­ figures dont merit this- he isnt fit tolace Garfield­ Sobers boots!

    From GEOFF S, on Mon 21 Sep 9:21PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Ungalund should stick to playing croquet.! They are­­­ pants at Cricket. ! Why ? They only just got the ashes­ this year by a combination of sheer luck due to the­ weather and unfair play .Look at what happened in the­ first test - the Aussies were miles ahead when the­ weather and unfair play by Ungalund ( by deliberately­ slowing the game down ) meant they scraped the bottom­ of the barrel to eek out a draw.Where's the skill­ in that.?The Aussies have just shown them who's­ boss .6 - 1 in the OD ers.

    From corneilius, on Mon 21 Sep 8:39PM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Ungalund should stick to playing croquet.! They are­­­ pants at Cricket. ! Why ? They only just got the ashes­ this year by a combination of sheer luck due to the­ weather and unfair play .Look at what happening in the­ first test - the Aussies were miles ahead when the­ weather unfair play by Ungalund ( by deliberately­ slowing the game down ) meant they scraped the bottom­ of the barrel to eek out a draw.Where's the skill­ in that.The Aussies have just shown them who's boss­ .6 - 1 in the OD ers.

    From corneilius, on Mon 21 Sep 8:34PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Cricketers are like Footballers, supposed Role Models.­ You should be priveleged to wear the Shirt. Of course I­ don;t expect you to go around drinking Orange Juice,­ but you cannot justify the Booze Cruise or the Pedalo­ incident. You should exercise some restraint. I would­ have docked the whole team 100% of their match fee, and­ sent the money to Alcoholics Anonymous. I would also­ have made Flintoff hand over the cheque and spend an­ hour with some of these unfortunate individuals at one­ of their places in London.

    From un_too_slow, on Mon 21 Sep 6:28PM

  14. Not sure what everyone is on about on this forum.­ It's as if Freddie let you all down personally.­

    This man is a legend. He became a superstar because­ of antics like he describes. People like real people­ because they relate to them. Who wants to sit and watch­ a Geoff Boycott or a Nasser Hussein or a Michael­ Atherton. These were some of England's best batsmen­ and nobody talks about them with any affection because­ they were too stiff and dull as a result. Its all to­ easy to blame Flintoff because he succumbed to the­ evils of drink but when Athers or Nasser were out of­ form did anyone over react and psychoanalyse their­ personal life to discover why? No, because nobody gave­ a @#$% about them.

    Getting drunk doesn't make­ Flintoff an idiot. It shows that he is one of us. He­ will go down in history as a great cricketer and a­ genuine bloke (a al Botham (another genius) and Phil­ Tuffnall) rather than a great cricketer with a broom­ stick stuck up his arse!

    From John B, on Mon 21 Sep 6:10PM

  15. He writes this as if we should be impressed or­ something. Well, we are NOT. Overrated and overpaid. A­ typical example of how the press can turn someone into­ a superstar. Watch this space. They will destroy him­ now. The British press are masters at that.

    From crispyduck, on Mon 21 Sep 3:07PM

  16. Freddie - you're talented but sad! Gascoine?? Quit­ the victim @#$% and look inside yourself - don't­ write a sensational "autobiography" and­ expect intelligent people to buy it! The road to good­ intentions (more money!) is paved with idiots. Enjoy­ your retirement and self=reflection and self-renewal!!!

    From bryan n, on Mon 21 Sep 2:17PM

  17. a liar.
    he tried to pedalo out to a boat where botham­ was having a party.

    fred...you're a great player­ but a pisshead. accept it.
    the reason you are injured­ so much is because you abuse your body.

    you will­ accept this in 10 years.
    but for now you need excuses.

    From geordieprince1, on Mon 21 Sep 1:53PM

  18. I thought the pedalo story was quite funny. No matter­ what everyone thought about Flintoff, he will be missed­ in Test Cricket and when he finally retires from all­ forms of cricket. 'presumably because I fancied a­ ride' LOL

    From gail b, on Mon 21 Sep 1:52PM

  19. Cornelius, shouldn't the Aussie test team stick to­ playing croquet? England did beat them to win the ashes­ in case you forgot? Is being a numbskull as painful as­ I heard it can be?

    From trouble, on Mon 21 Sep 1:26PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Ungalund should stick to playing croquet.! They are­­ pants at Cricket. !

    From corneilius, on Mon 21 Sep 1:21PM
Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account