Maybe we struggle with the concept of change... but why not give Talksport a chance?

SAM MORSHEAD: Why shouldn’t English cricket’s short secondment to Talksport be a progressive move? It offers the chance for the channel to give a louder voice to those who haven’t been heard enough, or even at all

^{Talksport have successfully bid for England's next tour overseas tours}

“Can’t think of anything worse for cricket”.

“Does it always have to be about the money.”

“Shameful.”

“Some kind of sick, tasteless joke.”

We English are experts in the art of the over-reaction.

The news that England’s 2018-19 winter will be accompanied not by the familiar voices of Test Match Special but instead by its upstart cousin Talksport has brought the very best out of Mr and Mrs Melodrama.

^{Darren Gough is set to be on the Talksport team}

Reading through the tidal wave of negative thoughts on social media in the hours after the news broke, it appears that a large number of listeners have already made up their mind about the new landlords. And not favourably.

Jonathan Agnew tweeted on Wednesday that the upset caused by the announcement “spoke volumes”.

The baritoned doyen of cricket broadcasting could be forgiven for slightly losing touch with the benefits of a competitive marketplace after 13 years as the face of what is effectively a media monopoly.

“TMS listeners,” he wrote “will be very disappointed and I’m very sorry”.

Of course some will be. Many will be. But beyond the immediate sentiment - the sadness at the thought of being without an old friend to spread word of of an early wicket in Galle or Guyana - what actually is there to fear? What about this short-term move has caused so much resent, so quickly?

Is it because commentary of an England Test trip overseas has transitioned from one award-winning national radio station to another for the first time in more than a decade?

Is it because, for one winter only - let’s not forget that TMS retain all summer ball-by-ball commentaries through until 2024 - the opinions of a new crowd of pundits will hold sway?

Is it because the responsibilities will pass on to a production team who recently managed coverage of a World T20 and the Champions Trophy, not to mention a limited-overs series in Bangladesh which until their intervention would have remained unaired?

Maybe we as an audience simply struggle with the concept of change. Perhaps, dare I say it, we struggle to recognise progress.

^{Jonathan Agnew addressed the situation on Twitter}

It’s why Britain’s Got Talent will return to our screens again this autumn more than half-a-decade after going stale; it’s why 30-year-old TV shows are doused in make-up and repackaged as prime-time Saturday night entertainment; it’s objections to three women being named as Wisden Cricketers of the Year.

Why shouldn’t English cricket’s short secondment to Talksport be a progressive move?

It offers the chance for the channel to give a louder voice to those who haven’t been heard enough, or even at all, avoiding those who have snaked across the UK cricketing broadcast landscape swallowing every media opportunity around.

Talksport has its bombastic characters, and its reputation in many eyes has been built on volume over value, but the station has not taken on Test cricket since 2005. Its decision-makers are perfectly capable of understanding the nuances of the sport, and the demands of an eclectic public.

Agnew saved the ECB some unnecessary stick on Wednesday by pointing out that it was Sri Lanka Cricket and West Indies Cricket who had the ultimate say over who got the rights.

“To be clear, it has nothing to do with the ECB,” he wrote. “SL and WI board decision”.

^{TMS retain English summer rights until 2024}

The tone felt somewhat accusatory. How dare these boards make such a choice. How dare they turn their noses up at the aristocracy.

Frankly, it’s impossible to know today whether or not Talksport coverage of Test cricket will be the hellish mess many seem to think inevitable.

The men and women who will be working on those broadcasts on the subcontinent and in the Caribbean are no less knowledgeable simply because they do not come equipped with TMS apparel.

They are no less enthusiastic about the game because the commercial radio station for whom they work rely on advertising for much of their revenue, rather than benefiting from taxpayer funding.

Their output would surely be no less engrossing for a slight decrease in the number of on-air minutes given to recipes for chocolate sponge.

Hopefully, after the shock of it all, both diehard TMS listeners and the crew who produce such an enjoyable show will tune in to Talksport ready to listen and, who knows, maybe even learn.

The new programme may turn out to be a difficult listen and, come lunch in Dambulla on October 10, we might all be longing for a return to the status quo, but until the point at which we know for sure, why such a peculiar sense of morbid fear?

All it is is four short months, then it’s back to the norm. Give change a chance.