SM
Real Sociedad vs. Real Madrid: 22 hrs 31 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

On This Day: Flintoff's 'Fredalo' disrupts England's 2007 World Cup campaign

:Headline: On This Day: Flintoff's 'Fredalo' disrupts England's 2007 World Cup campaign: ID:393242: from db_amp
The all-rounder lost the England vice-captaincy over his drunken antics.

Andrew Flintoff quite literally made a splash at the Cricket World Cup ahead of England's group game against Canada on March 18, 2007.

The all-rounder, then 29, was famously involved in a drunken escapade with a pedalo that cost him the England vice-captaincy.

Here, 13 years on, the PA news agency looks at the bizarre events in St Lucia dubbed "Fredalo", and how Flintoff rebuilt his reputation both on and off the field.

Andrew Flintoff was an Ashes hero in 2005 (Chris Young/PA)

What happened?

Andrew Flintoff was out of sorts at the 2007 Cricket World Cup (Rebecca Naden/PA)

England had lost their opening game of the tournament to New Zealand and Flintoff decided to drown his sorrows, little more than 24 hours before the second match against Canada. Reports suggested Flintoff, along with some other players and coaches from the England squad, embarked on a drinking spree lasting several hours.

So how does the pedalo come in?

A pedalo is pulled ashore near the England team hotel in St Lucia during the 2007 World Cup (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Flintoff revealed in an interview years later that he was "hammered" as he headed back to the hotel at 1.30am – and his walk home took him partially across the beach. He decided to reach someone he knew on one of the boats sat just out to sea. Flintoff said he could not swim and that would be "dangerous", and thought of getting a kayak before spotting the pedalo.

Who was he trying to see?

TV pundit Ian Botham was commentating at the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean (Mike Egerton/PA)

Flintoff was trying to paddle his way to one of England's cricket greats, Sir Ian Botham, who was working at the World Cup as a television pundit. "It sounds bizarre," Flintoff said in that 2014 interview. "But I knew Ian Botham was on one (boat out to sea) and I thought: 'I'm going to have a nightcap with Beefy.' So Flintoff dragged the pedalo into the water, but fell off before being helped back to safety by hotel staff.

The next day

England coach Duncan Fletcher was furious with Flintoff's behaviour (Rebecca Naden/PA)

Flintoff woke up "still wet and with sand between my toes" and England coach Duncan Fletcher was soon in his room and on the warpath. Having been warned and disciplined for previous misdemeanours, Flintoff was summoned to a press conference to apologise for his behaviour. He lost the vice-captaincy, and was fined and suspended for the Canada match. Flintoff returned for the next game, but both he and England had a poor tournament and captain Michael Vaughan said the pedalo antics had hurt team morale.

Restoration on and off the pitch

Andrew Flintoff became a TV personality after his cricket career and is a host of BBC show Top Gear (Will Douglas/BBC)

Flintoff, the 2005 Ashes hero, was at rock bottom after the 5-0 defeat in Australia (the tour he disastrously led with Vaughan injured) a few months earlier and the pedalo incident in the Caribbean. He struggled with injuries in the years that followed, but enjoyed one final hurrah to help England regain the Ashes in 2009. Post-cricket, Flintoff was in demand from companies to advertise their brands and became a media personality. He has been a team captain on long-running TV sports panel show A League of Their Own and a host of popular motoring magazine Top Gear.

amp_article__393242 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-18 08:37:59:
html db last update - 2021-03-10 20:42:32 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Andrew Flintoff

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .