Freddie Flintof f was able to down 10 pints of Guinness at the age of 17, he reveals in his new book.
The Top Gear presenter and Ashes legend reckons his love of booze may have brought about his retirement from the game at 31.
In 'Book of Fred', he tells how he found Guinness easier to drink than fizzy pop as a teenager.
And his ability to sink pints impressed his older team-mates during 'drinking games' while on tour with Lancashire.
He said: "When I was 17 I went on an end-of-season tour of Guernsey.
"I got a hundred in one of the games in Guernsey, which helped me massively.
"Then, afterwards, someone passed me a pint of Guinness. I shouldn’t have been drinking at all, I was only 17.
"I necked Guinness and it was so much easier than a pint of Coke."
He joked that he then 'did another one. And another.'
After ten pints, he had an 'epiphany'.
"It was a dangerous realisation," he recalls.
"I’m quite good at this."
He said that the 'drinking culture' in cricket at that time 'helped him to fit in'.
But he added: "I think if I’d said I was teetotal and wanted to have a protein shake or some electrolytes, the start of my career might have been very different."
He enjoyed 'almost all of' the drinking experiences, but now wonders if booze may have been part of the reason for his injuries, and early retirement.
Dad-of-four Flintoff, 43, returns with co-presenters Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness in the new series of Top Gear this month. It features on an expedition to Iceland in classic British motors.
