Day 34: Channel Four welcome back Test cricket

It is reassuring about cricket being on free-to-air television. For those of us old enough the greetings at the start of play from Richie Benaud or Tony Lewis. Of course, cricket coverage has moved on Sky Sports, and Channel Four in its brief guardianship of the national summer sport. 

England's tour of India starting on Friday will be broadcast on Channel Four who beat Sky Sports and Bt Sport to secure the coverage. It will be the first time since 2005 that Test cricket will be available on terrestrial television in the UK.

The pros and cons of keeping cricket behind a paywall will be debated long into the night, and I'm sure you have your views. The coverage that Sky Sports have brought to the table is of the highest quality. The discussion that Ebony Rainford-Brent and Michael Holding started about racism not just in cricketing but in their lives will stay with people for many years.

The World Cup Final in 2019 shown on FTA gave us a glimpse at what we could have. What a game it was with late drama and that super over. Imagine what a watershed it would have been had the women's World Cup Final two years previously had been available to more girls? It could have sparked a playing revolution.

Hopefully, the Hundred can do that this summer. With games to be broadcast on the BBC, more attention will be paid on the women's game. Not just the international players will be given a platform to play in front of an audience of note, but domestic players.

In England, there is a long way to catch up with Australia. Australia's talent pool at their disposal is larger, and they have been exposed to more high profile games. The WBBL has games broadcast on television, and the other games are live-streamed.

We are getting there in England if we continue to grow the coverage we will be catching up very soon. Some good young players need the challenge on a more consistent basis, which appears to be happening with the regional centres.

With COVID-19 unlikely to go away any time soon we do need a modicum of patience. But I like the way things are going.

I'm proud of my Scottish heritage. With a strong Scottish name like mine, how could I not be? Today on my way home from work, A woman at the bus stop made a remark about my Cricket Scotland jacket. She didn't realise Scotland had a team. For some reason, she didn't talk to me after I told her that Scotland won their last game against England. I was polite and, I do support the country of my birth. It does show that we can always do more to promote the game—what better way than to do that with top quality Cricket Scotland merchandise.