Despite recent sad developments, cricket will survive and remain our most noble game and I shall always remain proud of the part I played in its history and development.

I was never coached; I was never told how to hold a bat.

The game of cricket existed long before I was born. It will be played centuries after my demise. During my career I was privileged to give the public my interpretation of its character in the same way that a pianist might interpret the works of Beethoven.

May cricket continue to flourish and spread its wings. The world can only be richer for it.

There are people who wish to draw attention to themselves by attacking me

Reading poetry and watching cricket were the sum of my world, and the two are not so far apart as many aesthetes might believe.

Every ball went exactly where I wanted it to go until the ball that got me out