Jim Swanton - The Old Reliable

A man who got the 1939 Wisden stamped as “Not Subversive” by the Japanese at a Prisoner of War camp, EW Swanton was one of the pioneering commentators and a regular member of the Test Match Special team. Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the life and career of this often liked, often disliked, always admired man.

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John Arlott - the master

Policeman, poet, wine-connoisseur, author, part time politician, anti-apartheid spokesperson and word renowned host of dinner parties – John Arlott was also the soul of cricket commentary for over three decades. In the fourth part of the series on cricket commentators, Arunabha Sengupta covers the career of the Basingstoke legend.

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Rex Alston - always on the ball

With his scholastic background, Rex Alston was clear, accurate and very much ‘on the ball’ during his many years of covering Test matches. Arunabha Sengupta recalls the commentator whose calm sanity balanced the idiosyncrasies of the likes of John Arlott and Brian Johnston.

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Howard Marshall - the pioneer of BBC cricket commentary

Howard Marshall, along with BBC director Seymour de Lotbinière, formed the equivalent of Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe in the art of cricket commentary, setting the tone and benchmarks that would be followed by BBC and Test Match Special for years to come. In the second part of the series on broadcasters, Arunabha Sengupta replays the first popular English voice of ball by ball commentary.

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