It was sad leaving the BBC; not quite like being divorced, but you don't leave after a period stretching from 1960 to 1999 without feeling a certain number of pangs.

Media were never allowed into an Australian dressing room until I became skipper. I changed that and invited them in at the close of play each day, thereby confirming for many administrators they had appointed a madman as captain.

In fact, as a spin bowler, you have to work on the batsman over after over.

Coogee is a delightful, slightly old-fashioned suburb; it has parks and gardens and reserves, a good well-kept beach, and an excellent promenade above the beach. It is a suburb for people who appreciate those aspects of life.

Cricket. Come summer holidays here in Australia not a whole lot else seems to matter. It's good stuff... Some would even go as far as to say, marvellous.

Any captain can only do his best for the team and for cricket. When you are winning, you are a hero. Lose, and the backslappers fade away.

A cricket ground is a flat piece of earth with some buildings around it.