Phil and Gary Neville were also brilliant cricketers before becoming professional footballers.
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has played international cricket with and against some of the world’s best cricketers. He also has a liking towards other sports like boxing and football. Phil Neville, who used to play with Flintoff in Lancashire Under-19 side became a footballer in the English league.
The 42-year-old believes that had Neville continued playing cricket, he would have been England’s answer to the likes of legends like Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar.
Flintoff said, “He (Phil) was a year older than me and he was a cricketing genius. This is a big call, but if he had carried on playing cricket he could have been England’s Ricky Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar. He was that good.”
“He used to turn up, open the batting and score a hundred every time he batted, and then he’d bowl everyone out. He was a quick bowler and he got offered a contract at Lancashire - I think £2,500 was the wage - or go play at United,” he added.
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Phil’s elder brother Gary Neville was also a county cricketer and also shifted to play football for Manchester United along with his brother. ‘Freddie’ Flintoff also spoke Gary being a good cricketer.
He said, “Gary played as well and if you listen to Gary he was the best cricketer who ever walked the earth. He’d have made a good club cricketer at Bolton, but Phil was the one who was amazing and such a good lad as well.”
(With inputs from talkSPORT)