5 Reasons Cricket On The Radio Is Better Than TV

5. The Tone Is Better

Good sports commentary should reflect the tone of the action. The best football commentators speak in a chaotic mile-a-minute, pell-mell patois as the ball is punted all over the pitch. Rugby’s baritone chatterboxes are clashing cymbals of oval ball oratory. Darts’ finest microphone munchers are boisterous and lager-breathed.

In cricket, there are two separate tribes. At one end of the spectrum, are the TV commentators – suited and serious, commenting on the game without grin, expounding without expression. At the other end is the radio gang – plugged into the play when they need to be, but happy to break away from boring passages of play to regale their audience of funny stories or describe the lightness of a forkful of cake.

And for me, cricket should not be serious. It’s the only sport that stops for meal breaks for heaven’s sake. The radio’s tone is much more appropriate.