Cricket legend Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has incredibly revealed that he smashed a hundred for England at Lord’s after sinking 13 pints the night before.
The innings, one of the Preston-born star’s finest, came during the Three Lions’ Test Match clash with South Africa at the Home of Cricket in the summer of 2003.
After being bowled out for just 173 on Day One, England were put to all parts by a Proteas side who posted a whopping 682 in their first innings, leaving the hosts in danger of suffering a convincing defeat.
It was at this point at the end of Day Three that Flintoff and his good friend Steve Harmison decided to go for a solitary drink, which turned into many.
Speaking at Victoria Palace Theatre this week, Flintoff recalled: ‘I’d been at the hotel bar in Regent’s Park with Steve Harmison. Graeme Smith had scored 259, we were five down overnight so Steve said, “fancy a pint?”
‘One led to five and by 1am we were 13 deep. Michael Vaughan, who had been out to dinner with his wife, wasn’t best pleased and asked me what I was doing.
Freddie Flintoff has revealed that he sunk 13 pints the night before scoring 142 at Lord’s
Flintoff and Steve Harmison went for a few too many in a Regent’s Park hotel with their country staring down the barrel of a convincing defeat to South Africa
Incredibly, Flintoff smashed 142 the next day after telling Michael Vaughan he would do so
‘I said, “hang on, you’re out. I’m yet to bat. Tell you what, I’ll get a hundred tomorrow.”‘
Miraculously, Flintoff did just that, smashing 18 fours and five sixes on his way to 142 against a pace attack including Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini.
The Field of Dreams star has indeed been open about his relationship with alcohol both during and after his career as a cricketer.
In his autobiography Ashes To Ashes, Flintoff detailed how he once arrived to practice ‘smelling of booze’ and how he drank 10 pints of Guinness on tour aged just 17.
But at his speech this week, the former Lancashire star revealed he once enjoyed a beer at a very unexpected location – 10 Downing Street.
England’s finest cricketers were invited to the home of the Prime Minister after their famous Ashes victory of 2005 and Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, then with his memorable skunk-like haircut, arrived on the back of a two-day bender.
Recalling his afternoon at the famous residence, Flintoff said: ‘I asked Tony Blair’s son, Euan, for a beer while I played on the swing outside.
‘Then I went for a look around. I’d liked Through the Keyhole as a kid. I ended up sitting in the PM’s chair in the Cabinet Room with my feet at the desk holding a pretend meeting.
The Englishman has made no secret of the fact that he enjoys a pint throughout his career
‘That was until a policeman came in to say, “alright Fred, you’d have your fun, now f*** off”. I marched out.’
Flintoff eventually retired from cricket in 2010 at The Oval in south London, going on to enjoy a successful career in television, namely in Top Gear.
However it was in 2022 that the 47-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries after being involved in a crash during filming for the show.
In his new book, Coming Home: The moments that Made Me, the all-rounder revealed that in the terrifying moment he realised a crash was certain, he leaned on his cricketing instincts to help him survive.
Flintoff told the Sunday Times: ‘The same split-second decision making came into play during the crash I went through while filming an episode of Top Gear in 2022.
‘Suddenly the car was rolling and the world was all slow-motion chaos. I knew, somehow, exactly what was coming. I knew the options: If I stuck my arm out, I’d lose it. If I didn’t brace, I’d snap my neck. So I made the call. I shut my eyes and flung up my left arm, with the thinking being that as a right-hander, I was prepared to lose my left.
Flintoff suffered life-threatening injuries while filming Top Gear in 2022
‘The car dragged me underneath for 50 metres, face skidding, body flipping. Minus two degrees, busted face, but alive — because in that instant, my mind, honed on cricket’s demands, made the right call. A split-second decision. One that saved my life, and changed it.’
Flintoff spent a long period recovering from the crash in which he suffered serious face injuries.
He’s now back on television after the release of Field of Dreams, where he takes cricket into less privileged parts of the UK and beyond.
The Englishman is also involved in coaching, having taken charge of the Northern Superchargers at this summer’s The Hundred.
