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

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

Many cricketers who had more ability than I had, Why they didn't make more runs than I did, I don't know

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

About the last thing I ever wanted in life was a knighthood, and even today some forty years after the event, I find it difficult to come to terms with a life where old and valued friends insist on calling me 'Sir' instead of Don, simply because they think it is protocol. But I have consciously shouldered these burdens because I felt that I was the medium through which cricket could achieve a higher status and gain maximum support from the people, not only in Australia but throughout the world.

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

When you play test cricket, you don't give the Englishmen an inch. Play it tough, all the way. Grind them into the dust.