Channel 4, the cricket opportunists, are giving us much-needed lockdown relief

SIMON HUGHES: It is a wonderful boon for all those dedicated but stubborn Test match fans who have relied for so long on Aggers and Co painting audio pictures from Edgbaston or Adelaide

Channel 4 to show India-England Tests in the UK

Simon Hughes: Memories of when Channel 4 made cricket better

Channel 4 are cricketing opportunists. They prey on other broadcasters’ apathy. That was undoubtedly the case when they first plucked Test cricket from under the BBC’s noses in 1999.

The Beeb were, frankly, complacent. They had never attempted to enhance their coverage of the game thinking they had it for life. They were like a male-only golf club who hadn’t changed the menu or the wallpaper for 30 years.

Channel 4 sloped in on the blindside, promising new ingredients, more diversity and brighter colours.

Outraged of Tunbridge Wells, fearing a bikini-clad presenter and a house-music underlay were soon pacified by the sight of Mark Nicholas and Richie Benaud emerging from the famous Lord’s pavilion gate to introduce the show.  

The philosophy was “evolution not revolution” and over time we brought in HawkEye, the snickometer and ultra slow-mo cameras, as well as sharper, smarter graphics, more in-depth analysis and more imaginative features. There was a female host too – remember Sybil Roscoe?

The underlay was passion, from the runners – one of whom was Alison Mitchell, now of radio and TV fame - through the videotape operators and highlights editors to the presenters and commentators. Whereas at the BBC there had been inflexibility and a resistance to new ideas, at Channel 4 there was open-mindedness and a willingness to experiment.

The marketeers mounted slick advertising campaigns and erected big screens on Clapham Common. Everyone on the team was unified by their love of the game and that emotion percolated the most cricket-averse hearts.

This will be a revelation to breakfasting children of non-Sky subscribers, seeing cricketers dressed all in white playing with a red ball

The biggest mistake the ECB made was not giving the cricket to Sky in 2005 – they deserved some reward for their commitment - but sacrificing that Channel 4 passion on the altar of financial greed.  

Sensing England’s destiny in the 2019 World Cup, Channel 4 tried energetically to co-host some England games during the tournament and eventually secured the final. What a result that turned out to be! 

And now, sensing a Sky wounded by the encroachment of streamers into their territory and a commitment to cricket which tends to incite negative rather than positive reactions, they have moved in to secure England’s tour of India.

READ SIMON HUGHES' MEMORIES OF CHANNEL 4 CRICKET

It is a wonderful boon for all those dedicated but stubborn Test match fans who have relied for so long on Aggers and Co painting audio pictures from Edgbaston or Adelaide, and will be a revelation to breakfasting children of non-Sky subscribers seeing cricketers dressed all in white playing with a red ball.

Apart from the World Cup final, it is the first time Joe Root has performed live on terrestrial TV. And this will be his 100th Test.

Don’t expect any innovations. This production has been cobbled together at the last minute and will reply heavily on the “world feed” (a smorgasbord of commentators supplied by India’s Star TV).

There will be no funky gadgets, demystifying features or renowned wordsmiths (they are all contracted elsewhere). But that doesn’t really matter. What does is that, if Root or Ben Stokes, or Virat Kohli is in full cry or Jofra Archer or Jimmy Anderson or Jasprit Bumrah is making the ball talk everyone can tune in and share the experience and witness the greatest sporting contest – a five-day Test match – ever invented.

What a gift to a besieged government imploring everyone to stay at home.