1/31/2024 0 Comments Free wonder zoo game![]() Up there, it is just a conversation with a friend about something I love and know (a little). Even last summer, during particularly challenging times, I found moments of peace through bemoaning trigger movements or encouraging the use of a leg-slip. Inside that little commentary box though, something quite magical happens. Those feelings, plus a few extras, have landed me in some dark places. I freeze in front of new people and the idea of addressing them publicly brings only dread. In “real life” anxiety follows me around. Truthfully though, my work is a selfish act. To pick up the microphone for the past couple of summers has been a privilege. They have been kind enough to ask me back regularly ever since. I had never done anything like it before but after much pestering of the club’s digital guru, Ben Warren, they humoured me during the 2021 pre-season. My opportunity to dabble in it professionally came through Somerset’s live stream. It is a comfort blanket from the world’s troubles. The County Championship has world-class players flocking to it and live coverage of games is helping spread the good word.Ĭommentating on cricket has changed my lifeĬricket commentary sounds safe. If there is an Indian or Pakistan international on show, the numbers are stupendous. When Babar Azam played at Taunton, a T20 match had 1.1 million clicks and the cash prize for the interval gameshow was offered in Rupees.Ĭontrary to popular belief, rather than dying, the county game is evolving. But the shorter formats, and their overseas stars, can bolster the numbers. An average County Championship Day might bring 25,000 views at Somerset (where I commentate, see below). YouTube is helping the game reach new audiences, too. They succeeded Somerset, who claimed the award ahead of Gary Neville’s ‘The Overlap’ and Premier League YouTube in 2021. Last year, LancsTV won the YouTube Channel of the Year award at the Broadcast Sport Awards, fighting off competition from Sky Sports Premier League and LADbible TV. The streams have, aided by the pandemic, grown rapidly in popularity and quality. Others, like Warwickshire and Essex, use the BBC radio commentary for the County Championship, but bring in their own voices for the Blast. The BBC’s Scott Read still leads commentary but he is regularly joined by David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, England women’s Kate Cross, England disability skipper Callum Flynn, Paul Allott and Phoebe Graham. Lancashire give it the full TV production bells and whistles. That changed in 2020 when the ECB and Sky agreed to drop this restriction.Īt first each county took the BBC’s radio commentary feed over the top of their own video footage but a quintet – Somerset, Gloucestershire, Northants, Surrey and Middlesex – now run their own show completely. So while some dabbled in live coverage, there was reluctance to invest heavily. Crucially, Kent's coverage remains free for members, with other users charged £6.99 per match.īetween 20, counties were unable to stream domestic games while Sky were broadcasting any ECB cricket at all. The exception is Kent, who are taking part in a trial this summer whereby their T20 home games will be behind a paywall. If you are reading this, doubtless you will have spent many hours listening to descriptions of how person X is hurling a piece of red leather at person Y who is yielding a piece of willow.Īll 18 first-class counties now broadcast every ball of the summer online, for free – in all three county competitions (as long as the same match is not being broadcast on Sky Sports). Few, if any, sports lend themselves equally to audio as they do visuals. Among cricket’s many beauties is that it is as much for the ears as the eyes.
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