Section:GDN 1N PaGe:35 Edition Date:190801 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 31/7/2019 18:14 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Thursday 1 August 2019 The Guardian •
35Sky is the limit
Gower was always
so welcoming to
viewers but now he
faces long goodbye
T
he news that David Gower will be laying
down his microphone – or, rather,
unclipping the lapel mic from whatever
elegant silk tie he happens to be wearing
that day – caused a murmur of sadness
in my family. He had retired from
international cricket when I started
watching the game, so my memories
of him were never those of the golden-haired boy of
summer. His batting was already being embalmed in
nostalgia, a mosquito trapped in amber, its wings spread
in an eternally stylish cover drive.
But he had quickly become the honeyed voice of
cricket, his oh so slightly crooked smile so regular a part
of my life that it was soon entwined with the seasons.
As the Bible almost put it: “The winter is past, the rain
is over and gone. The fl owers appear on the earth ... and
the voice of David Gower is heard in our land.” He was
also my mother’s long-term cricket crush, beloved to the
extent that a framed picture of him sat proudly on her
offi ce desk at her law fi rm, alongside the much smaller
photos of her husband and children.
Gower is , in his own words, “being retired”. Sky Sports
has not renewed his contract, and this Ashes series will
be his last gig. He did not appear as one of the ICC’s World
Cup commentators, so his voice has felt strangely lacking
from England’s history-making moment. He has spoken
of this unexpected ending with a candour that made it
hard not to overanalyse his performance in the Ireland
Test last week. Was his delivery lacking a little of its usual
joyfulness, or did he just have a cold? Was that panama
hat he was wearing some kind of silent call to arms, or a
sign of demob happiness?
There are those who would argue his almost careless
tone no longer fi ts with the Sky brand, and perhaps they
are right. Gower graduated from the Richie Benaudschool of commentary, relaxed enough to let the pictures
speak for themselves. He didn’t try to adorn every image
with his thoughts, a reserve that more garrulous former
players struggle to appreciate (yes, I’m looking at you,
Rob Key). Understated responses were often a part of his
charm. A purred “wow” from beneath those white-gold
curls could cover anything from a nice cover drive to a
record-breaking innings from Brian Lara.
The attributes that defi ned his playing persona –
deftness, nonchalance – were always best purposed as
an anchor. Gower was the smooth talker, welcoming you
to the start of play like a white-suited captain greeting
you on board his cruise ship. Taking you into lunch like
a walker negotiating an elderly aristocrat around the
dance fl oor, the charm written across his face no less
sincere because it was being paid for it.B
ut the place Gower established, among
a TV lineage that stretched from
Peter West and Tony Lewis to Benaud
and beyond, wasn’t only down to his
ability to transmit a twinkle directly
through the cathode rays. There has
always been a palpable kindness
that makes the viewer feel safe in his
hands, invited into a sport that can be – especially to
the uninitiated – a little intimidating. And, of course,
an ability to laugh at himself that made him such a
delightful foil for Lee Hurst, Rory McGrath and Nick
Hancock on They Think It’s All Over, long before
A League of Their Own came along.
His departure from Sky is part of a wider (and not
unwelcome) remodelling of its coverage. Sir Ian Botham
is also expected to leave, and spend more time with his
wine collection. Bob Willis seems to have been put out
to the permanent pasture of the Cricket Debate show,
where his dour intonation can’t unintentionally bring
down the mood. The Sky box has never felt like a locker
room but it did, for a long while, resemble a club lounge
for England captains with frequent fl yer miles. A recent
spruce has given it a more contemporary feel. Isa Guha –
who served her apprenticeship at ITV, ESPN and the BBC- has looked a smart signing ever since she became Sky’s
fi rst woman to commentate on men’s matches.
Elements that have always been
excellent – the deep dives emerging
from the third man’s chair, the use of
innovative technology – are central
to Sky’s off ering, and the banter
about where everyone ate last night
has given way to ever more surgical
analysis. Nasser Hussain and Mike
Atherton, who would easily make an
all-time XI of cricket commentators
(though they may have to cede the
captaincy to Benaud), spot details so
minute yet telling it must be tempting
to give them their own spin-off crime investigation show.
Their stock only rose during the World Cup, where
the ICC’s feed reminded us of the disparity among their
collation of on-screen talent. At one end, you had Kumar
Sangakkara, Mel Jones and Ian Smith – at the other,
Ramiz Raja attempting a pitch report while behaving
like someone who has just landed on its surface from
Saturn. Whatever you think of so much cricket being
hidden behind a paywall, you can’t dispute that Sky’s
commentary team off ers value for money.
Still, as analysis becomes ever more acute and
technical, it’s worth remembering that the serious
business of uncovering the nuances of sport can make it
appear ever more complicated to those on the outside.
With cricket returning to the BBC next year, and the
Hundred attempting to draw new viewers, the ability to
engage them easily will be crucial.
Just as Clare Balding and Hazel Irvine can walk and
talk us through Olympic sports we’ve never before
encountered – without making us feel like we’re
outsiders, or worse, too stupid to be there – we still
need those who can extend a benefi cent invitation to a
cricketing world we don’t yet know. And that has always
been part of Gower’s charm.
Emma John
He was the
smooth
talker, like a
white-suited
captain
greeting you
on board his
cruise ship▲ David Gower
(pictured with Nasser
Hussain at Edgbaston
in 2017) is, in his own
words, ‘being retired’
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