“Joe Root may be the most talented sportsman of his generation,” said someone, somewhere the other day. This followed his epic 254 runs scored against Pakistan in the second test. I’ve seen a bit of him on Rupert Murdoch’s pay TV channels and he does seem a bit special, but the truth of the matter is because cricket is tucked away on cable TV, no one knows who he is.
Actually, the last bit is not quite true. Serious cricket aficionados know who he is. I expect he has a typical cricketer’s name like ‘Rooty’ which is bandied about with great affection by the broadcasters, but the odds are his skills and fame will not transcend his sport. He is the unknown superstar, which means he isn’t really a superstar at all. Which is a shame.
I grew up when cricket was on the BBC. The big stars, like Botham, Gower, Willis, Randall, Underwood et al were known to everyone. Botham was as famous, if not more famous, than any footballer in the land. Granted that the BBC coverage was extremely old fashioned, but I never saw what was wrong with old fashioned. And people talked about the cricket at work and in the pub. Only serious cricket fans and cricketers do that now, as cricket takes a distant back seat in our sporting priorities.
I consider myself to be interested in cricket but there are a good few players in the England side I would not recognise if they walked into my local. Names like Vince and Ball – who on earth are they? They have been seen by those of us who top up Murdoch’s pension account on the various one day tournaments to which Sky has exclusive coverage while your average punter will not have a clue.
In 2005, the streets of London were packed to congratulate the England team who had completed an epic Ashes win against Australia. The likes of ‘Freddie’ Flintoff were national stars, so were Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen. Channel Four had enormous viewing figures and they gave us a truly national experience. Not any more.
Root’s fledgling greatness is being played out to a small six figure audience on the telly and to the relatively affluent middle classes who can afford to attend what is becoming an increasingly elitist sport at the top level. (At least £60 a ticket at the Oval for the final test against Pakistan. Add transport and refreshments and you will have a sum way beyond your average punter.) Watch it live and take out a second mortgage or watch it on TV and give up food.
The powers that be had to make a judgement call with their sport. Either retain even an element of live cricket on terrestrial TV and seek to grow the game or take the money and run. Guess what happened?
Everyone’s a loser, if you ask me, apart from the players who get richer and richer, and the owners of Sky TV. The likes of Joe Root will doubtless break records in a stellar career and become just about as well known as the world Crown Green bowling champion. Loved by cricket fans, in all the record books, but, like a rolling stone, a complete unknown.
