Manchester City star James Milner admits he was almost lost to cricket.
In another life, he could be contemplating becoming the long-term successor to Andrew Flintoff this weekend if he had decided to develop his talent for cricket.
"I enjoyed playing cricket as a boy and played for Yorkshire at the ages of 10 and 11 as a wicketkeeper and batsman," he said.
"You get to a stage where you have to make a choice. I think it was always going to be football for me.
"I stopped playing cricket at 15 or 16 when I moved full time to the Leeds United Academy. They couldn't take the risk of me getting injured playing cricket, having my foot broken by a Yorker or something like that!
"A couple of months later I made my Leeds debut. I can't risk playing cricket now but when I retire, I'll look forward to playing again then."
