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Sky cricket coverage in the past
realwales
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Watching Sky's coverage of the current Ashes series, they do a feature most lunchtimes where they look back at Ashes series from years gone by. There are voices I don't recognise from the archive footage, so I thought it'd be worth starting a thread to discuss how Sky's coverage used to be.
I know they've covered every England winter tour since 1990. We didn't get Sky in our house until MANY years later so I wouldn't have that much recollection of the early years. This much I believe is true:
* Before the launch of Sky Sports, Sky had exclusive rights to Sunday League cricket for one season in the early 1990s, which was, I think, shown on Sky One. It was presented by Tony Greig but I have no idea who commentated.
* Henry Blofeld commentated for Sky between 1991 and 1994.
* Charles Colville has been with Sky since 1990 and presented their coverage from quite early on. (He's probably the only cricket commentator I have experience of and cannot stand).
* Mark Nicholas was heard occasionally on Sky in 1995, as well as working for others, but in 1996 replaced Colville as the main cricket presenter.
* The 1996 commentary team was: Mark Nicholas, Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Paul Allott and who else?
* David Lloyd was part of the Sky commentary team in the early days but left to take up coaching roles (latterly with England).
* Geoffrey Boycott commentated for Sky during the winter for at least the first five years (he was with the BBC for the summer), certainly when TWI produced the coverage.
* In 1999, Mark Nicholas moved to Channel 4. David Gower, who had previously worked as a commentator and interviewer for the BBC, became Sky's anchorman. But didn't Gower also have experience of working on Sky's winter tours shortly after his playing days ended?
* Tony Greig commentated for Sky's winter tours during the early years when his Channel 9 commitments allowed. As I said above, he also fronted the Sunday league coverage for that one season. But was he part of the summer cricket team on Sky beyond that?
Can we fill in the gaps beyond this? Obviously various overseas commentators have been used down the years (Tony Cozier in the West Indies, for instance), but who am I missing from this country? And who was the Aussie guest commentator in the early Sky Ashes tours?
I know they've covered every England winter tour since 1990. We didn't get Sky in our house until MANY years later so I wouldn't have that much recollection of the early years. This much I believe is true:
* Before the launch of Sky Sports, Sky had exclusive rights to Sunday League cricket for one season in the early 1990s, which was, I think, shown on Sky One. It was presented by Tony Greig but I have no idea who commentated.
* Henry Blofeld commentated for Sky between 1991 and 1994.
* Charles Colville has been with Sky since 1990 and presented their coverage from quite early on. (He's probably the only cricket commentator I have experience of and cannot stand).
* Mark Nicholas was heard occasionally on Sky in 1995, as well as working for others, but in 1996 replaced Colville as the main cricket presenter.
* The 1996 commentary team was: Mark Nicholas, Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Paul Allott and who else?
* David Lloyd was part of the Sky commentary team in the early days but left to take up coaching roles (latterly with England).
* Geoffrey Boycott commentated for Sky during the winter for at least the first five years (he was with the BBC for the summer), certainly when TWI produced the coverage.
* In 1999, Mark Nicholas moved to Channel 4. David Gower, who had previously worked as a commentator and interviewer for the BBC, became Sky's anchorman. But didn't Gower also have experience of working on Sky's winter tours shortly after his playing days ended?
* Tony Greig commentated for Sky's winter tours during the early years when his Channel 9 commitments allowed. As I said above, he also fronted the Sunday league coverage for that one season. But was he part of the summer cricket team on Sky beyond that?
Can we fill in the gaps beyond this? Obviously various overseas commentators have been used down the years (Tony Cozier in the West Indies, for instance), but who am I missing from this country? And who was the Aussie guest commentator in the early Sky Ashes tours?
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Good thread! Looking forward to seeing replies.
Every England winter tour except a short trip to Zimbabwe in 2004 which included 5 ODIs and was shown on Zee TV i think.
Wasn't he TMS before he became England coach and Sky afterwards?
Someone is saying this is the first time Sky has took its own team down Aus, I am more or less certain that they sent there own team down last year and have always done it since they started covering the ashes down under
They definitely took their own commentators last time.
Think BSB took over coverage of the Sunday League cricket from the BBC - Sunday League that became Pro40?!
Also think Sky were the first to show live coverage of The Ashes from Oz, when we'd previously had highlights to back up the radio coverage from the BBC.
Sunday League cricket was on Sky 1 in the early days, before Sky had its own Sports channel, as was the first West Indies tour of 1990.
BSB had Nat West and B&H.
Sky didn't do the NZ tours in the early days.
For the first tour Sky covered, West Indies, 1990, they shared the commentary with the BBC who had highlights.
The BBC's Tony Lewis was in the team.
Mike Selvey was one of them.
I stand corrected regarding the Sunday League.
Think when BSB got coverage of the NatWest and B&H, the BBC would show late night highlights from BSB's coverage, their graphics, logos and all.
Of that only lasted, maybe, one season before the merger with Sky Television.
Sky have had a commentary team out in Australia for every Ashes series since 1994/5. I think Australia, South Africa the West Indies and possibly New Zealand are the only tours they have always been on site for since they started covering them.
I don't think Sky covered the 1991/2 tour to New Zealand, but they definitely covered the next one in 1997.
David Gower had worked on a few tours in the 1990s for Sky, his first came in 1993 after he wasn't selected for the tour to India. I think his only previous presenting experience prior to 1999 came in his last year with the BBC, he presented the test against Sri Lanka in 1998 after Tony Lewis had taken up a role at the MCC.
David Lloyd did use to work on TMS, but also did some work for Sky, he then returned just to Sky in 1999 after the five or six years he spent coaching.
Sky have covered every World Cup since 1992. I can't remember if there was any on site presenting in 1996, but there wasn't in South Africa in 2003. Sky did dedicate one of the channels (I think SS3) just to the cricket though for much of that tournament. If there wasn't a live game they would show highlights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btkxmpX37fU
I don't think BSB showed the NatWest live. It was live on BBC.
BSB did, however, show B&H live.
I THINK Lloyd was on BSB.
Not sure of exactly when but he also had a fairly short period umpiring (I know it's a bit off thread but, of course, for the first ball of his 1st class umpiring career the bowler bowled an orange instead of a cricket ball).
When did Sky Sports first start showing 2 hour highlights of the test match that had been live on the BBC during the day?
Wasn't there a TV deal done with Sky in '95 where they had exclusive coverage of England's home ODIs? I'm certain the ODIs were only on Sky in '96 but during '95 as well?
Sky's regular summer team of commentators (highlights of test-matches, live one-day internationals / live B&H Cup / highlights of the Nat West Trophy) during the mid-late 90's was Mark Nicholas, Bob Willis and Paul Allott with Ian Botham and Allan Lamb. Charles Colville began to be phased out as a commentator from 1996 onwards, although he could still be heard on domestic matches as both a presenter and commentator - and Mark Nicholas effectively replaced him as Sky's cricket anchor and one of its commentators. Nicholas could have chose to stay with Sky in 1998, but I guess leaving to join Channel 4 ultimately turned into a very good career move for him. It may be that if he had stayed with Sky, Gower may have moved to Channel 4 and taken up anchor role there.
The first cricket match I ever saw on Sky was one of England's games in that World Cup; I remember Charles Colvile and Bob Willis talking about it in the studio - which perhaps illustrates that presentation was handled in London - and Neil Fairbrother vomiting on the pitch during it.
Edit: Just checked Cricinfo and it was England v United Arab Emirates on 18 February 1996; England won by eight wickets and it was actually Neil Smith who vomited on the pitch and retired ill.
If ever leaving sky was the right career move for someone, it was Mark Nicholas. He's effectively become the face and voice of terrestrial cricket over the past decade (along with Boycott), and I can't imagine he would have had all these extra gigs (Channel 9 in the winter, and Britain's Best Dish on ITV) had he stayed at Sky.
The Sports Channel showed evening test highlights the summer of 1990.
See the bottom left of this page showing BSB highlights from July 14 - July 20.
http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/skytv/bsb.html
I remember receiving this magazine in the post ever month back in 1990-91!
By the summer tests of 1991, The Sports Channel would have been re-branded Sky Sports, and I guess that answers your question.
Sky are showing some action from the 1991 Ashes tour right now. So far I have heard the voices of Tony Greig, Geoffrey Boycott and, to my surprise, Richie Benaud. There's an Australian voice I can hear there as well, I'm not sure whose it is though.
Add Henry Blofeld to that list. Blowers and Greig sound noticeably younger. Boycott sounds a little different, but he seems to have got most of the strength back into his voice these days. Following his illness, his voice was slightly weaker for a few years.
I saw it - that was Channel 9 coverage. Richie Benaud has never worked for Sky.
Blofeld and Boycott would have been the English guest commentators.