West Indian cricket team in England in 1976 the West Indian get on top they are magnificent cricketers, but if they’re down, they grovel. And I intend, with the help of Closey and a few others, to make them grovel.” The insensitive comments only inflamed the racial and colonial implications surrounding the 1976 series. The remark was particularly provocative coming from Greig, the white South African-born captain of England. West Indian bowler, Michael Holding recalled how the comment “Smacked of racism and Apartheid. He got our backs up and made us more determined.” Greig claimed the word "grovel" was used only as a response to the way the
Tony Greig the 1975–76 season to play grade cricket in Sydney. Greig was well-known among colleagues as a man who wanted to take commercial advantage of his profile as a leading sportsman. He signed a number of endorsements and appeared in commercials in Australia, most famously in his ads for the new breakfast cereal "Nutri-Grain", where his catchphrase "It's just like a cricket bat with holes" struck a chord. When he returned to England, Greig caused more controversy in the lead-up to the 1976 series against the West Indies. Appearing on television to discuss the coming summer, Greig's oratory created controversy when