Word pictures just as exciting as TV visuals...
The first Test match I listened to was the Brisbane Test in 1954
V Ramnarayan
15-Sep-2001
The first Test match I listened to was the Brisbane Test in
1954. Len Hutton won the toss, put Australia in, and England
got beaten by an innings, after the baggy green caps scored
more than 600.
Incredibly, England swept the series thereafter. An avid
England fan then, I was transported to seventh heaven by the
acts of derringdo of young Colin Cowdrey and elegant Denis
Compton, but more than the efforts of any other individual, by
the fantastic fast bowling unleashed by Typhoon Tyson.
Later, as this love at first hearing became a full-blown
passion, it became both a challenge and an adventure to
twiddle the knobs on the old valve radio at home to get BBC
just right and listen to Test Match Special. The word
pictures of EW Swanton and John Arlott were as vivid as the
most spectacular camerawork of Channel Nine today.
Yes, we all followed Indian cricket on the radio. Somehow, it
was never so exciting, for two reasons. One, India was not the
strongest Test outfit of the day, and Test matches tended to
be one-sided affairs in which India usually got thrashed.
Secondly, the standard of Indian radio commentary was nothing
to write home about. Almost every ball was 'a well-flighted
delivery' and batsmen usually 'played forward.' Not until
transistor radios at cricket grounds exposed the gap between
the cricket on view and the commentator's version of it, did
we realize that perhaps the men behind the mike did not enjoy
the best view of the game.
That was the time when newspaper reporting of Test cricket was
arguably at its best. Some fine writers covered Test matches,
Jack Fingleton of Australia, the best known of them, and they
were not hampered by having to write on events the reader had
already watched ball-by-ball on TV, and still make it
interesting. For a young cricket fan, nothing was more eagerly
awaited than the morrow's newspaper account of a Test match.
What was left unsaid was often as exciting as what was said,
and filling in the gaps through mental pictures of your
favourite hero was one of the pleasures of following cricket
in different parts of the world. For example, Fingleton's
account of the first tied Test in history was perhaps more
evocative and thrilling than any footage of the game.
Today's splendid TV coverage has brought in millions of new
cricket enthusiasts, who are able to acquire a fair amount of
cricket knowledge thanks to the stunning visuals and the
observations of some of the great cricketers of our times. It
is wonderful to be able to observe from behind the bowler's
arm the science and art of our foremost bowlers and batsmen.
To watch the acrobatic fielding feats of the best of our times
is no less thrilling.
Cricket coverage by the worldwide web is perhaps the most
personal connection you can have to the action. Here, not only
can you listen to or read the expert opinion on the day's
play, you can also tell the world what you think of it all. It
is already a superb source of cricket data and pictures as
well as a treasurehouse of all manner of cricket trivia. The
potential for comprehensive coverage and scientific analysis
is huge, and so is the scope for getting insights into what
makes your favourite stars tick.