Freddie Flintoff: I don't want to go into the commentary box
Former England hero says he has no interest in being a cricket pundit
Former England cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has said he is not interested in joining the host of ex professionals in the TV commentary box.
Flintoff, who last year fiercely criticised his former England and Lancashire colleague Mike Atherton who now commentates for Sky Sports, told Radio Times magazine that he will not be following suit and passing judgement on fellow professionals.
He said: “I’m only 35 – I’m not ready to sit in an 8ft by 8ft box, talking about an off drive. I’ve been in dressing rooms where they won’t have the sound up on the TV because they don’t like the criticism from ex-players. You think, ‘I’m not going to do that.’
“I don’t want to be paid to watch cricket, I want to take my boys [Corey, 7, and Rocky, 5; he also has a daughter, Holly, 8] to Old Trafford or Lord’s.”
However the cricketer who helped England to home Ashes wins in 2005 and 2009 said he would be keen on working in television in another capacity.
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“I’d like to have a crack at presenting on TV. I’d like to do more of the travel stuff. I’d like to get a day job too. Because with cricket, you’re in a routine all the time. With the television stuff, you work, then go home. You take the kids to school, then sit on the couch and think, ‘What am I doing today?’ I haven’t yet got to the point of watching Jeremy Kyle.”
In June last year Flintoff told the Evening Standard: “[Atherton] sits there making judgments about players that are much better than he ever was, believe me, he’s a p----. How can he talk about a player like Alastair Cook who is 10 times the player he ever was — he has a much bigger average and will go on and on,” said Flintoff.
