Today is the day when Somerset supporters spent most of the day looking at weather forecasts rather than the scorecard wondering if we are going to get any play tomorrow. And for me catching up on the excellent BBC Somerset Cricket podcast with Charlie Taylor and this week’s guest Max Waller. And that got me thinking.
Isn’t it amazing how the way we access our sport has changed. I don’t think this is anymore apparent than with cricket. We all are able to access scores in real time, in the last few years listen to ball by ball commentary and in the last year watch a live stream.
When I first got into cricket the only way to find out the day’s score was to listen to the close of play scorecard on Radio 2 at (I think) 7.30 pm. We used to get the evening post and (laughably now) the corecard would be as at about an hour before lunch, so you’d know that Rose was bowled Imran for 12 and that Denning and Richards were 21 and 16 not out respectively. If you were lucky the stop press column would say Somerset 176-3 but that was about all.
I was a very good reader at an early age and I’m pretty certain that this was because I used to devour the cricket pages of the Daily Telegraph every day. Back then every game would have a full report and there would be a full scorecard so you could (and I did) devour every detail of the previous day’s play before heading to school.
Just writing this I find it hard to believe that following Somerset required so much effort if you weren’t at the game. The ability to listen and watch games via the internet has proved immensely popular. Somerset’s “viewing figures” are astounding and proves there is a real demand for as much coverage of championship cricket in particular.
Podcasts are another development of the iPhone revolution that has revolutionised audio listening. I hardly ever listen to the radio during the week instead my commuting and gym time is accompanied by listening to my favourite subscribed podcasts including the aforementioned BBC Somerset Cricket Show.
I’ve found an huge void in the last three days since the final day against Essex waiting for the Notts quarter final. Yes I watched the end of the Kent Lancashire game and the whole of the Durham v Sussex game last evening but it’s not enough so an hour and a bit listening to Charlie Taylor and Max Waller was most welcome.
I’ve got some limited podcasting experience and have been fortunate enough to get to know The Anfield Wrap boys and watch that grow into a sizeable business in Liverpool so am wondering if it might be a good time to try doing something similar, on a very limited basis for Somerset Cricket. I might be able to fill the gaps between games researching how to do it at least.
