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Cricket News and ViewsIf you’re looking for a view on the latest cricket controversy, you might want to consult your favourite opinion-former, before coming to your own conclusion. But, whose word should you trust? There are as many opinions on cricketing matters as there are media pundits, and of course we can all have different views on their individual wisdom. So, here are a few of my favourites for your consideration. Jonathan Agnew has been the BBC Cricket Correspondent since 1991, and is known worldwide for his knowledgeable, warm, and often humorous radio commentary on BBC Test Match Special. Renowned worldwide as “Aggers” or even “Spiro”, he played cricket for Leicestershire and England, before becoming a full time cricket journalist. But as well as being the voice of BBC cricket, his TMS
“Blog from the boundary”
articles convey balanced opinions on even the most sensitive of cricket issues. 
Geoffrey Boycott is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, as well as an outspoken radio commentator who does not pull his punches. His “partnership of opposites” with Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special led Wisden to christen them the “Lennon and McCartney of cricket broadcasting”.However, if you want to get to the core of a cricketing issue in as few words as possible, check out his column in the Daily Telegraph. Boycott’s articles go where few other cricket journalists dare to tread, and are as uncompromising as his style as an opening batsman. Sambit Bal is an Indian cricket journalist, and turned to this because it gave him the perfect excuse to watch cricket in the office. He became the first editor of Wisden Asia cricket, he was founder editor of Cricinfo Magazine, and is now the editor of Cricinfo. His depth and width of commentary on cricket issues is quite formidable; he sees the “big picture” and keeps a balanced view, but only criticises when he can accompany this with irrefutable logic. I thought that his commentary on the (lack of) progress of international cricket in 2007 was quite brilliant. For more incisive views on the current state of the game, read his articles in Cricinfo. Tony Cozier has been the voice of West Indies Cricket since 1965. He is passionate about cricket, and about West Indies cricket in particular. He has been a member of the BBC Test Match Special commentary team, and is currently engaged by Sky Sports. His cricket knowledge and punchy commentary is respected by worldwide radio audiences, and he transfers this skill to his cricket writing. He is author of the outstanding “The West Indies: 50 Years of Test Cricket”, and writes a regular column for the Barbados Nation, on both West Indian and world cricket news issues. He gives credit where it’s due, but is unafraid to give constructive criticism where it’s needed. There is no substitute for the voice of experience, and Tony Cozier’s writing provides both passion and experience in equal measure. Taking a departure from the written word, my last choice of cricket news opinion-former is Simon Hughes. While his CV as a first class cricketer and cricket journalist with the Daily Telegraph and the Independent is impeccable, his work as “the analyst” for Channel 4 and Cricket on Five is unique. For the uninitiated, this involves spending day after day of live cricket in a truck, receiving live video feeds from every TV camera around the field of play, and giving detailed analysis of cricket incidents and umpiring decisions. This lifestyle might not appeal to everyone, but Hughes’ forensic analysis and communication skills give cricket a whole new dimension to the viewer. And, for the coaches among us, his insight is extraordinary. If you want to resolve that cricket debate in the pub, or just understand cricket in more depth, the analyst is your man. My choice of cricket opinion-formers is probably as debatable as the views of any commentator on cricket news, but it works for me. If you want to see the wood for the cricketing trees, why not give them a try?
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