South ampton: Mark Nicholas has no qualms of being known more for his commentary than his time as a first-class cricketer for Hampshire. "The thing about commentary is I always wanted to do it. I could imitate [Richie] Benaud, [Jim] Laker. I could have conversations in their voices. I adore the game. I read books about the game when I was a boy. I read Denis Compton's autobiography when I was just nine. I read Don Bradman's The Art of Cricket when I was 10. I always wanted to be a commentator. I wanted to play cricket for England and I wanted to commentate on cricket," said Nicholas during an interaction with mid-day.

While Nicholas, 61, did fulfil his ambition of being a commentator and has established himself as one of the finest in the world of cricket, his goal to play for England never rally materialised despite playing 377 first-class matches and scoring 18,262 runs. In a chat with mid-day, Nicholas opens up about leading Hampshire for 10 years from 1985, commentating with Benaud, and his dream of an India and England World Cup final.