Flintoff puts booze binges behind him

Andrew Flintoff has revealed that he has finally put his booze-fuelled past behind him.

The former England captain, whose antics inspired the phrase 'to go out and get Freddied', said that he has his wife Rachael to thank for helping him to get his priorities straight.

Flintoff, 32, said: "I'm not that wild lad any more. I was young, I made mistakes and it was never easy to phone Rachael explaining the latest stories about me and what I’d been up to.

"She's very driven, a very focused kind of person, and I'm a laid-back kind of bloke, so it was always interesting to hear her telling me where I was going wrong. In other words, she would give me a b*llocking, and I would listen."

The father-of-three, who announced his retirement from Test cricket last year, is currently renting a home in Dubai's marina area and is looking to buy. He has also been asked to become an ambassador for the Emirate, promoting sports, tourism and lifestyle.

"Cricket’s been good to me, it’s taken a punishing toll on my body but it’s given me fantastic rewards in return," he told the Sunday Mirror.