West Indies Cricket Fans

What was the best moment of your career?

Walking out on my debut for England against the West Indies in a one-day game at Edgbaston. My selection in 1988 came out of the blue. The other highlight was scoring 129 for Guyana against Barbados in a one-day game in Bridgetown in February 1983. We went there without a hope in hell. I batted No 3 and walked past Tyrone Etwaroo, whose finger had been smashed by Malcolm Marshall and who had got a duck. Two overs later, I watched Faoud Bacchus get his ear split with a short ball. When I had about 20-odd, Clive Lloyd came to the crease and the third ball from Marshall hit him on the head. It was like a battleground and very verbal. I was in a zone and don’t remember what was happening. When Roger Harper came to the wicket he said he looked at me and could have said anything, but nothing would have registered because I was so fired up.

What was the worst moment?

Being run out on my England debut off the second ball for a duck. I ran one and three-quarter runs and then my captain, Mike Gatting, said no to the second. I turned but couldn’t make it back. The other worst moment was going to South Africa with a West Indies rebel team in 1983. I did not enjoy the tour one bit. A lot of us did not realise the severity of apartheid. We were ignorant about the real South Africa until we got there, and then it was too late. I was banned for four years and regret denying myself the opportunity to play at the highest level, which I believe I might have achieved. From a cricketing point of view, I learnt a lot out there about batting from Lawrence Rowe, Collis King and Alvin Kallicharran and came back a different, more confident player, scoring more than 1,000 runs each season for the next four years.