Arlott maintained his strong views on the issue and two years later he came to an unprecedented agreement with the BBC to be excused from commentating on the upcoming Test series against South Africa in England without prejudicing his future commentary role on Test matches against other touring teams in subsequent years. However, the British government subsequently cancelled the tour over public order concerns at each Test venue. A Rest of the World side, captained by Gary Sobers and including five South African team members, played a five-match 'Test' series instead, with Arlott rejoining the TMS commentary team to cover those matches.