“I love what I’m doing now but I’d swap it all to play the Ashes” – JOE chats exclusively to Freddie Flintoff

Since retiring his cricket bat, Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has cycled 1200km across the Amazon, bulked up to become a professional boxer and cooked fish and chips for the nation.

And now he's dabbling in stand-up by sharing his stories on stage for his Freddie Flintoff: 2nd Innings tour. 

He will try anything once and is a man of no regrets, but Flintoff exclusively reveals to JOE that he would happily drop everything and put the whites back on to play a part in the Ashes.

We caught up with the former England captain days before the series started, and he told us about his longing to get back out on the field.

"I think this is the week I want to more than any other," admits Freddie. "I love what I’m doing now but I’d swap it all to play on Wednesday (the start of Ashes)."

"But I think I’ll still be like that when I’m 70.”

Flintoff played 79 Tests for England, 141 One Day Internationals and was hailed throughout his career as a world-class all-rounder. Since retiring through injury, the Lancashire-born man mountain has maintained his relationships in the sport - unlike Kevin Pietersen, who has backed Australia to retain the urn.

“Where I am with cricket at the moment is nice as I can have it on my own terms," says Flintoff.

"I can take my kids to watch and sit in the crowd. Because I’ve not burnt my bridges with teams and sold out and slagged off in the media, I still get invited to the dressing room, which is the biggest compliment you can have.

"I really enjoy cricket now, which I didn’t when I retired. I thought 'I'm only 31, I should still be playing.' But now I love seeing it through my kids eyes as they love it. I love seeing the excitement they get from it."

Flintoff was always one of the leading characters for England; he was the biggest personality and helped to build strong camaraderie in the group. With the Ashes now under way, does he believe fellowship is as important as form?