The Ashes is underway and a new-look commentary team is guiding UK cricket fans through the five-Test series between England and Australia.
Three members of England’s triumphant Ashes squad of 2010/11 – the last English side to win the urn away from home – are helping bring the action to viewers, with Sir Alastair Cook joining Graeme Swann and Steven Finn in front of the microphone.
Two of the three will be on the ground for each of the five Tests, joined by presenter Becky Ives, but the ‘play-by-play’ commentators Alastair Eykyn and Rob Hatch are reporting the action remotely from London. Neither have a significant profile in cricket, with Eykyn best known for his work in rugby, while Hatch has won awards for his coverage of cycling.
Former England player Ebony Rainford-Brent and Australia’s Justin Langer are also set to add insight to the coveragea cross the series.
The move not to have lead commentators in stadiums in Australia but 10,000 miles away in the UK drew strong criticism on social media and in the press.
The Daily Telegraph described coverage of the first Test in Perth as “shoddy” and “ripping off viewers”.
The Daily Mail had earlier criticised TNT Sports’ “half-baked plan” as a “dumbed-down insult to long-suffering England fans”, and questioned Hatch and Eykyn's commentating from TV screens with an “inability to see anything other than what their monitors are showing them”.
Scott Young, executive vice-president of WBD Sports Europe, which oversees TNT, said the pair were “huge cricket fans” and the technology links meant viewers “won’t know where they are” as they interact with pundits at the venue.
In an interview with The Independent ahead of the Ashes, Hatch insisted the coverage would not be diminished by commentators calling the shots from afar.
“For television commentary, one of the key rules is to talk to pictures,” he said. “We will talk to the picture, and of course, we have eyes and ears in the stadium as well, so if there is anything bizarre happening, we’ll get to know about it.”
