Last Friday morning, I did something I don’t think I’ve ever done at 3.45 am: I smiled.
I’d be willing to wager than anybody else watching Channel 4 at 3.45 am on Friday was as wide-grinned as me when Lou Bega’s Mambo No.5 blasted out to signify the return of Channel 4 cricket.
All of a sudden I was reminded of ‘being sick’ on the last day of the 2005 Ashes series and getting to stay home to watch Kevin Pietersen’s famous innings. You remember the soft, thoughtful voice of Richie Benaud juxtaposed against the enthusiastic, instinctive voice of Tony Greig. Then there was Simon Hughes’ ‘trailer’ where he’d cast his ‘expert analysis’ over proceedings with the use of the latest cutting-edge technology in a trailer with dozens of producers.
Channel 4 cricket were the ‘innovators’ of cricket broadcasting, shaping the game forever with inventions like ‘Hawkeye’ and the ‘Snickometer’, but when the limitless capital of Sky came after cricket, terrestrial TV was never going to be able to compete. Thus, it disappeared; Channel 4 cricket was resigned to sentimental conversation, and the 2005 Ashes series would forever be immortalised as ‘The Last Ever Series On Channel 4’ every bit as much as ‘The Greatest Test Series Ever’.
So when the announcement came on Wednesday, Channel 4 somehow won the rights to broadcast the entire England tour of India, it was a moment of rejoicing for all us sentimentalists.
A lot has changed. Channel 4’s reign as ‘innovators’ of cricket broadcasting is still over. Simon Hughes returns without his trailer, but with a homemade magnetic plate to demonstrate fielding positions, and recordings he personally made on his mobile phone of an Indian cricket crowd to show how loud they are were pre-Covid, instead.
There are a few interactive moments where pundit Alastair Cook will answer viewers’ tweets and Rishi Persad presents brilliantly from a studio that looks like a tent. Of course, Channel 4’s hands are slightly tied with the pandemic, but this is a different Channel 4.
The truth is, I don’t think this matters. Sure, people like to listen to the newest material out but who doesn’t like to go back and remember the classics? Yes, the production isn’t as clean, the lyrics can be awkward, and the style can feel dated, but the classics remind you why you fell in love with something for the first time.
And right now, what else do we have other than our memories of when life was a bit simpler?
