On 2 June 1976, the eve of the first test match of the series, England captain Tony Greig was interviewed on BBC’s midweek sports program Sportsnight. The interview was conducted on the roof of Hove’s Pavilion in Sussex. In the interview, Greig was forced to respond to questions concerning England’s chances of winning the series against the young West Indies' side. Greig described being unimpressed by the West Indian squad. He described the West Indies recent humiliating defeat in Australia and their tumultuous home series against India. Greig explained, "I like to think that people are building these West Indians up, because I am not really sure they’re as good as everyone thinks they are.” He then notoriously claimed, “Sure, they’ve got a couple of fast bowlers, but… you must remember that (if) 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.