Cricket broadcasts

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32958, 3 July 1972, Page 12

Cricket broadcasts

Sir, —It is difficult to understand why, with several national broadcasting stations carrying an all-night programme, the ball-by-ball commentary on the England v. Australia test series is restricted to two very short periods—l2.ls to 12.34 a.m. and 5.9 to 5.40 a.m. Over many previous test series played in England, the N.Z.B.C. carried a commentary covering almost the whole day’s play, and this was appreciated by many listeners interested in cricket. Attempting to listen to the ball-by-ball descriptions from an Australian station through a barrage of atmospheric noises is both tantalising and frustrating. Could we learn the reason why it is not now possible to have a full commentary from even one of the national stations carrying the allnight programme?—Yours, A. J. HEALY. June 27, 1972. [Mr L. Boyes, public relations officer for the N.Z.8.C., replies: “The cricket commentaries on the N.Z.B.C. allnight programme are the only ones being broadcast this year by the 8.8. C.; the Australian Broadcasting Commission is broadcasting continuous commentaries by special arangement. The N.Z.B.C. feels that it would be unfair to inflict nothing but cricket on the regular all-night listener, who may well have little or no interest in that sport. Continuous commentaries, except where New Zealand is directly concerned, have not been given since the inception of the all-night programme. Cricket commentaries on one station of the network would not solve the problem, because the noncricketers in that area would have difficulty in picking up the regular programme satisfactorily, and cricket enthusiasts in distant areas would have difficulty in hearing the cricket. Our advice to Mr Healy is that he should tune to the short-wave transmission of the A.8.C., which is usually very clearly heard in New Zealand.”]