'John Arlott spoke from his soul'

Arunabha Sengupta, writing for cricketcountry.com, says John Arlott made commentary special with his ability to illustrate cricket through the imagination.

John Arlott had the unique power to weave the sights and sounds of the ground and far beyond in an intricate picture painted with words. In many ways, his was not really the archetypical BBC voice. A heavy Hampshire drawl, often emphasised to bring out his uniqueness, took the traditionalists – Rex Alston among them – more than a while to get used to. Besides, he spoke from the purest recesses of his soul and never were emotions shoved away under the modulation of professionalism.