When considering the stature of an athlete or for that matter any person, I set great store in certain qualities which I believe to be essential in addition to skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life with dignity, with integrity, courage, and perhaps most of all, with modesty. These virtues are totally compatible with pride, ambition, and competitiveness

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

Test Cricket is not a light-hearted business, especially that between England and Australia.

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.

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.

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

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