Flintoff committed to England but also to playing in IPL, Australia

London, Oct 4 (ANI): England all rounder Andrew Flintoff, who didn't sign the ECB contract, has said that he is committed to playing in the Indian Premier League and Australia.

The one issue that still worries Flintoff is when people question his loyalty and desire to play cricket for England.

"My commitment to England will never change," he said. "But I do also want to play in the IPL and in Australia. I wanted to do that when I was 16 but my mum wouldn't let me.

"I was going to play club cricket in Australia. But she said I was too young so I got a job behind the record counter in Woolworths. I'd like to think I didn't throw a strop at the time, but being 16, a teenager, maybe I did," The Daily Express quoted Flintoff, as saying.

"Of course she made the right call. Me on my own at 16 in Australia doesn't bear thinking about, does it?"

Flintoff would also relish selling cricket to the Americans if a mooted T20 tournament there gets off the ground.

"There's always been talk about America, and if that happened, yes, I'd go there," he said.

"The Twenty20 format would be perfect in America. If you watch baseball, nobody hits the ball, do they? And cricket is all stats- based, which the Americans seem to love. It would be great to go over there," Flintoff said.

"I was offered a chance to play baseball when I was 17. We had a fielding coach over from America to work with Lancashire and he looked at me and my 90mph throwing arm - it was a lot better then than it is now - and he said I should go over to America to try out in baseball, primarily as a pitcher.

"But, for me, playing sport has always been about cricket. And my mum might have stopped me going anyway," he added. (ANI)