I was paid very little for my first commentary in l971 in the West Indies, but I didn’t mind — it was just experience. TV pays much more than radio, and Test Match Special, though popular, has always been underfunded. I do about 40 days’ cricket in England. What I earn from Test Match Special would not feed a family, but it opens so many other doors.

Have you ever been really hard up?

Frequently. I have got involved in some stupid business ventures, and in the early l990s I had a narrow escape. If my mother had not left me a very early Meissen porcelain figure that fetched a lot of money I would have gone bankrupt.

The worst thing about being broke when I was young was when I had to pay the fees for my daughter’s school and the bank bounced the cheque. It wasn’t a long-term problem but an embarrassing moment.

What is the most lucrative work you have done? Did you use the fee for something special?

In theory it was when a television mogul from southern India took me on board for a lot of money. But then he pulled the plug and I got only a third of the promised fee. I was commentating and doing administration for him during the Cricket World Cup in 1996 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

I am a great one for getting by, and I got by on this occasion by working very hard. If I had received all the money I would only have spent it.

Do you own a property?

I own a four-bedroom house in London on the edge of Chelsea. We have been in this particular house for l0 years and I’ve lived around these parts for a lot of my life. I’ve owned a few houses, and bought my first in my early thirties.

It is my wife who keeps a finger on what the property is worth. Bitten is a high-powered accountant. I would think it has gone up quite a bit since we bought it in l992. I do know we have a mortgage, but that is often the most sensible way of buying a house.

I am a tenant in the Norfolk house, which belongs to the family trust. My family has owned the same estate since the 17th century. There are 20 houses on the land; we live in a farmhouse that was built in l595.

What about Peps and Isas?