Don't overlook cricket in Question of Sport shake-up!

HUW TURBERVILL: Team captain Phil Tufnell is among those being replaced at the end of the show's 50th year - but will the replacements give a nod to cricket?

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All this palaver about A Question of Sport but really there’s only one thing that needs clearing up – will cricket be ignored?

Host Sue Barker and captains Matt Dawson and Phil ‘Tuffers’ Tufnell are off at the end of this, the popular BBC quiz show’s 50th year. You may have read some stories about it.

A Question of Sport’s pilot episode was shown in the north of England in 1968, and from 1970 the show has run every year on the Beeb.

Barker has hosted it for 24, and before her came David 'quite remarkable' Coleman (1979-97), David Vine (1970-77), and Stuart Hall (1968 – pilot only). There have been more than 1,200 episodes.

Ex-footballer Alex Scott (Arsenal and England) is the favourite to take the helm from Barker, but one wonders if Isa Guha might have a shout, to compliment her hosting of the BBC’s cricket coverage.

And Alex Tudor is apparently in the frame to be a captain. Friend of The Cricketer Tudes helped us test out new bats a few years ago, and he is a great man, so fingers crossed for him.

Cricket has always been pretty well represented on the quiz.

^{Presenter Sue Barker is to be dumped by the BBC}

Tufnell has been a team captain – the producers obviously saw something in his leadership skills that Middlesex and England didn’t – since 2008.

Sir Ian Botham was a captain from 1988-1996 (lasting considerably longer in the role than he did with England). That was my era when Beefy battled amicably with Bill Beaumont under the firm-but-fair jurisdiction of Coleman. The picture board and mystery guest rounds were always fun.

Famously, Botham delayed joining England until the third Test in New Zealand in 1991/92 so he could fulfill his QofS and panto commitments. It was always funny watching Botham struggle with the ‘home’ cricket questions in the home or away round. Sales of Pringle sweaters went through the roof, and no, Botham didn’t hand over to Mike Brearley... 

Fred Trueman was a captain from 1976-77. I wonder if he said his catchphrase: “I don’t know what’s going off out there.” He was better known for the legendary The Indoor League on ITV (1973), however. “Nay then” and “I’ll sithe (see you)” would top and tail his hosting of that cult classic.

QofS has also had some stand-in captains from cricket – Shane Warne and Darren Gough in 2007, and Michael Vaughan and Graeme Swann in 2014.

With two regular captains (Botham and Tufnell), cricket has not done badly and had the same number as football (the wonderfully genial Emlyn Hughes, and Ally McCoist). Rugby has had the best of it with four, however – Dawson, Beaumont, Cliff Morgan and Gareth Edwards.

^{Graham Thorpe is among the cricketers to previously appear as a guest}

There were also too many cricketers to mention as guests.

Ray Illingworth was on the first episode 50 years ago, just before he led England to Ashes glory down under, with George Best, Lillian Board (400m runner) and Tom Finney, and team captains Henry Cooper and Morgan.

I also recall Graham Thorpe on Beaumont’s side. Coleman asked him what the difference was between playing for Surrey and England, and he replied: “About two grand.” A bit cynical for a cricket-mad youngster like me, but I guess he had a point, and it made Botham chuckle (I have always found Thorpe friendly and accommodating to me as a journalist, I must add).

Mike Gatting took part in a Red Nose Day special in 1988, with his Spitting Image puppet on the other team!

I have to confess I don’t watch it religiously anymore. It’s a bit heavy on the ‘bantz’ these days, and I won’t hold my breath about that improving with a new ‘yoof’ line-up. One hopes it doesn’t descend totally into A League of Their Own-style banality.

But let’s not be churlish. Here’s to A Question of Sport’s half-century (and please don’t forget cricket!).

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