So Paul, you're working in America at the moment, how come?
I was in LA a few years ago and I became aware of a guy called Ted Hayes who founded the Youth and Homeless Cricket team in Compton. I then met him on a return trip back to Great Britain and we just hit it off from there. We've worked pretty intensely for the last five years to basically change gangland activity involving kids, and we've been pretty successful.
What effect does your work have on kids in Compton?
We teach them etiquette. If an umpire gives them out and they disagree cricket teaches them to walk off, to walk away. If those kinds of situations happen on the street then they would act very, very differently and it could end nastily.
You talk about your drug use in your book, is there still a drug problem in cricket?
It is still very much a problem in cricket - Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Akhtar's careers are still hanging by a thread. Shoaib, upon being found guilty of taking banned substances, said he had never been given any drug counselling and I can believe that 100%. I know hundreds and hundreds of cricketers who have never been given any counselling and that's just about drugs that you would find in a bar, never mind steroids.
Why did you start to play cricket?
For me I played cricket because I was good at it, simple as that. If I was a good car mechanic I would have become a car mechanic. I wanted to play cricket because I wanted to see the world. Simon Donald, my best mate from school, wanted to write comics, people used to laugh at him at school but now he is a multi-millionaire from Viz. You played in a ridiculously successful Warwickshire team that featured Brian Lara, but many criticised his attitude. What was he like?
Look, if you were going to bring in the Led Zeppelin guitarist and sit him in a room with a lot of other ordinary people, then the Led Zeppelin guitarist would be treated very differently. It was exactly the same with Brian Lara. If you try and rule Brian Lara the way you would rule a young lad in the side it just wouldn't work.
And you also worked with Bob Woolmer ...
He was by far he was the best coach in the world, the full package. He'd be at the ground at 7am and would stay behind late to help out any player that needed his attention. When they didn't give Woolmer the England job in 1999, they put English cricket back a hell of a long way no matter what this Duncan Fletcher bloke has done. Trust me, there is a big difference between having coach written on the front of your nice new tracksuit top and having someone like Bob Woolmer.
Has Freddie Flintoff got a drink problem?
I don't think Freddie Flintoff has got a problem, no. I think if you went out with him for a pint you would have a cracking good night and if you went out for a meal with him you would have a fantastic conversation. But you can't expect him to be in bed by 10pm because he is not that kind of bloke. I think cricket at times tries to put you in a box and if you don't fit in that box then you have got problems.
In your day, you put away a fair amount of booze, ecstasy and marijuana. What was the biggest bender you went on?
I would just go out and come back three or four days later, I had nothing to come home to anyway. I was always social, mate.
Do you still enjoy a drink?
[Laughing] I am not a boring bastard and I still enjoy a good time, but on a different level. If there is something to celebrate then I would crack open a bottle but I don't do it as part of a routine. Unfortunately I think you have to live life in order to see the shortfalls that can happen.
Wine or beer?
[Laughing] A pint of wine or a pint of beer? To tell the truth, my favourite drink is black sambuca.
Well, Small Talk is grateful for your honesty. Who is the greatest rock star of all time?
[Thoughtfully] Jimi Hendrix, he could do things that people can't do now.
Who would win in a fight between Graeme Smith or Kevin Pietersen?
[Emphatically] Kevin Pietersen. I hope he would knock Smith's teeth out. He should shut his mouth and captain his country.
Who would you prefer Scarlett Johansson or ...?
Who is Scarlett Johansson? Forget them, I would go for Angelina Jolie.
What would you put in room 101?
Bent politicians.
Are there any other kind, Paul? And on that note we'll call it a day. Thanks for your time.
Not a problem Small Talk.
'Wasted? The Story of Cricket's First Rock 'n' Roll Cricketer' by Paul Smith (£16.99) is published by Know The Score Books. Visit www.knowthescorebooks.com for more details