FREDDY MONIKER STUCK

QG’day Mike. Mr Cricket is a term of reverence now but I read recently it actually came out of a sarcastic sledge from Andrew Flintoff. Have you ever thanked ‘Fast Freddy’ for marketing you so well, or do you just wish you came up with a better nickname for him? I haven’t had a chance to thank him, really (laughs). It is where it started though. It was a cold, wet miserable day at Old Trafford when he said it. No-one was really enjoying their cricket except for me, I was just loving it. I must admit, I was probably a bit embarrassed by it to start with. I felt like I didn’t deserve the tag. There were a lot of other players that deserved it more than me. I think, in the end, it was probably more about my

Alove for the game and that’s where it stemmed from.

Q AIn all seriousness, is it hard living up to be called Mr Cricket? You must hate it sometimes.

Not really. I was just embarrassed. You could be called a lot worse to be honest. I’ve learned to live with it. It’s a nice nickname, I guess.