The men behind the mike
In the Sportstar Ted Corbett relives the time when men like John Arlott, Brian Johnstone, Alan McGilvray and Don Mosey were giving cricket its worth, explaining the game to the uninitiated, and offering as fair a verdict on its rights and wrongs
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
In the Sportstar Ted Corbett relives the time when men like John Arlott, Brian Johnstone, Alan McGilvray and Don Mosey were giving cricket its worth, explaining the game to the uninitiated, and offering as fair a verdict on its rights and wrongs as is humanly possible.
It was 1948, the year of a severe thrashing by one of the greatest Australian teams that I became fascinated by the descriptive power of the men without pictures, reporters who clearly loved every minute of what I realised must be an ideal life telling anyone who would listen just what was happening in the wonderful world of sport.
I can remember their phrases to this day. “His name is Fred Titmus and he is on his way to the wicket, marching like at a good pace like a light infantryman, which is only appropriate since he is on leave from his Army unit.” That is just one line from the Arlott book of thrilling words.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo