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The Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Behind the scenes at Sky Sports Cricket and how they changed the game
Perched beneath an open flap on the side of the lorry, the beckoning wave of the happy cats immediately draws the eye. These golden knick-knacks, known as maneki-neko, are supposed to bring good luck and fortune to those who possess them, but here, amidst a sprawl of cables, cabins and a whirring generator, they serve a different purpose. It is day two of the one-off Test between England and Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge and The Independent has been granted a rare look behind the scenes with Sky Sports ' award-winning cricket team. For close to two decades, the broadcaster has served as the ECB's primary partner, showing every home international and much, much more besides. This is one of 166 match days to be covered across 129 actual slots on the calendar this summer; it is a hectic time. Back to the cats, then, which are used each morning to sync up the slo-mo cameras – a minor part of what is, as almost goes without saying, an extraordinary operation. For the Zimbabwe Test, the sprawl of trucks and trailers fills an empty space alongside the ground; for a Hundred game, with the BBC also in town, the broadcasters will also commandeer a pub car park. Three cameras and their accompanying operators generally sit on the gantry at either end, each serving a different purpose behind the bowler's arm. The rest are dotted around the outfield, providing different perspectives, all overseen by a team of producers, directors and wider personnel. Where once this was done on-site, most is now done at the broadcaster's base in Osterley. To assist with the ease of coverage, cabling is placed at each ground – at Worcestershire's New Road, prone to flooding in winter, this must be removed regularly and re-laid before the start of each summer. Innovations like the Sky cart – wheeled out for analysis – and T20 commentary pod are added to this on occasion, creating a different feel beyond the slightly staid studio set-up that characterised cricket coverage for years. Little of the wider operation is sighted, but Sky has made stars of its on-air team. Figures like Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton can set the cricketing agenda. Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad is a recent addition after concluding his playing career. 'Coming into the Sky team has been incredible for me,' he explains. 'You leave a changing room full of friends and you come into a smaller version of a changing room. In my playing career, it was all about continuously improving every day, and coming into this role, it's exactly the same mindset. I've loved it.' During a Test, commentators generally operate under a system of half an hour on, an hour and a half off. They can be an idiosyncratic bunch. Hussain, for example, hates air conditioning, while Broad can occasionally be prone to patrolling the commentary box in his socks. Given the sheer volume of cricket that Sky shows, a rotating cast of characters is managed and monitored carefully – Ian Bishop has been a welcome addition in every sense as an expert for the recent West Indies white-ball series, while pundits like Simon Doull and Mel Jones are regular returnees regardless of New Zealand and Australia's involvement in the English summer. The tone will naturally differ depending on the cricket on offer. A broad portfolio, Hussain outlines, should provide something for everyone. 'We have so much cricket and so many different styles of cricket that it should cater for all. The key is to give a broad spectrum of coverage. 'When I was young, mum and dad asked if I wanted to go to the theatre and I wasn't keen. Now I've got a bit more time, you enjoy the finer things in life, and you do want to go and watch a show. Your time and your tastes and what you want to do changes. If you can get people into the game through white-ball cricket, the IPL and the Hundred, you can take them on the journey.' Overseeing all aspects of the coverage is Bryan Henderson, the broadcaster's long-serving director of cricket, and among the more quietly influential figures in the game. Workload management is a key challenge. 'We would love Nasser, for example, to work on every single broadcast we do, but clearly that's not possible,' he explains. 'It's not as exhausting as playing, I'm sure, but they are quite intense days and it can be quite mentally draining working on a Test match. They need work-life balance, like all of us do. But you want your more experienced or bigger names on the higher profile games – it's common sense, really.' Henderson's planning for the next summer will begin before the current season is even at an end. Once a fixture list is figured out – increasingly complex with some changes to the structure of the County Championship likely for 2026, plus the presence of the Women's T20 World Cup – he will begin a three-to-five-month planning process, figuring out budgets, commentators, staff and some of the technical elements that may enhance coverage. The hope is always to stay up with, if not ahead of, the game. While the fundamentals of Sky's coverage remain based around a strong journalistic sense, there has naturally been an emphasis on ensuring that it also moves with the modern world, reflecting the diversity of the audience watching. 'I like the phrase innovate or die,' Henderson says. 'I'd like to think that Sky Cricket tends to be slightly ahead of the curve. It would be rare for us to be accused of being a bit slow to change. Sometimes it's forced on us a little bit, through Rob Key getting the big England job, or Michael Holding or David Lloyd moving on, or the tragic events around Shane Warne's passing. 'I think we're proud of the role we've played and developing the women's game. I think we're probably quite proud of how in difficult economic environments or with different formats and the congested schedule, I think we keep our standards pretty high.' He also spotlights the work raising money for the Bob Willis Foundation in memory of an old favourite, and giving platforms to Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent to talk powerfully about racism as examples of the wider work Sky does alongside simply covering cricket. Technological advancements are on the way. Hawkeye is developing a sort of virtual reality replay system that could place the viewer, say, in the cordon after a slip drops a catch, putting them in the perspective of the fielder. While helmet cams have been helpful, showing the sheer speed of a game is something Henderson feels cricket is still yet to crack. Broad has eased effortlessly into the commentary box and work to develop the next generation of voices – from Tammy Beaumont to Tymal Mills – has been clear in recent years. There is also a need for existing broadcasters to stay in touch with the sport. The digital age has made this both harder and easier, with the advent of high-quality county streaming, umpire cams and global broadcasting deals meaning the amount of cricket broadcast vastly outweighs that of when Hussain started. 'I always remember the comment Duncan Fletcher, the England coach, said after I got the job at Sky,' the former England captain recalls. 'He shook my hand and said, 'well done for the job. Just remember in five years' time the game will look completely different. Make sure you keep up to speed.' Within a year, Kevin Pietersen was switch-hitting Scott Styris for six. 'If you take a month off watching cricket – and I don't for this reason – you end up so far behind. When I first joined, you could catch up. Nowadays, there is a 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi bursting on the scene at the IPL. When Shoaib Bashir was picked, I hadn't watched him bowl in my life, but you go into Twitter and put in his name and you can see his wickets – and that's how he got selected. It's a completely different landscape now.' With India's men and women visiting England simultaneously, it is clearly a huge summer, one that also brings renewed scrutiny on The Hundred after the windfall brought by the sale of stakes in the eight franchises. But after a glimpse behind the scenes, Sky's cricket coverage looks in very safe hands indeed.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
England bring Woakes, Carse and Overton into squad for first India Test
There is still a fortnight to go until the first Test against India but England are a team in a hurry these days. On Thursday morning they named a 14-man squad for the series opener, with Brydon Carse, Chris Woakes, and Jamie Overton all drafted in as options with the ball after Gus Atkinson was ruled out through injury. No official date has been put on Atkinson's return after a hamstring issue picked up during the innings victory against Zimbabwe last month. But with a week between the first Test at Headingley that starts on 20 June and the second at Lord's, England are hopeful that the breakout star of last year can have an impact on the five-match series. Advertisement Related: 'It's Harry's team now': Brook makes instant impact in new England era In the meantime, five seamers are likely to compete for three spots in the XI, with Josh Tongue and Sam Cook retained after the one-off Test against Zimbabwe and the unused Matthew Potts now overlooked altogether. Cook, who took one for 119 on debut, will be hoping for a second chance to impress with the new ball. This may hinge on whether Woakes is up to speed, with the 36-year-old's start to the summer delayed by a bone stress reaction in his ankle. Having played one round of county cricket for Warwickshire a fortnight ago, the next fitness test comes with an outing for England Lions against India A starting on Friday. Tongue will similarly feature in this match, making the early release of the Test squad a surprise. The same can be said for Overton's recall, three years after his solitary Test cap against New Zealand and now nursing a broken little finger. Although with Atkinson missing, and Woakes still to prove his readiness, the long-handle with which Overton plundered 97 on debut could shore up the lower order. Carse, back after a toe injury and having shone in Test cricket last winter, can also hold a bat. Advertisement More predictable was an instant return for Jacob Bethell, who missed the one-off Zimbabwe Test due to its clash with the Indian Premier League. With the 21-year-old all-rounder having shone during his maiden series in New Zealand last winter, the question now is whether he slots into the XI at the earliest opportunity. England squad for first Test Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes Schedule 1st Test: England v India, 20-24 June 2025, Headingley, Leeds Advertisement 2nd Test: England v India, 2-6 July 2025, Edgbaston, Birmingham 3rd Test: England v India, 10-14 July 2025, Lord's, London 4th Test: England v India, 23-27 July 2025, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester 5th Test: England v India, 31 July-4 August 2025, Kia Oval, London If so it would represent something of a U-turn from Ben Stokes. Irked by debate around the No 3 position, and having watched Ollie Pope deliver a sparkling 171 at Trent Bridge in Bethell's absence, Stokes chuntered about a 'media agenda' in his post-match press conference and threw his weight behind his vice-captain. More positive for Stokes in the aftermath of that game was his own return to bowling after hamstring surgery at the start of the year. As a result, an initial plan to turn out for the Lions has been dropped and Stokes, who tends to opt out of warm-up cricket on tour, will probably continue his preparations in training.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘He's got aura': England sensation Jacob Bethell on Virat Kohli and Test ambitions
Fresh off a plane from India and straight into a player-of-the-match performance for England on his home ground, Jacob Bethell's world is a pretty hectic one these days. But right now the only complaint about a jetset lifestyle that has seen him rubbing shoulders with Virat Kohli and tipped for superstardom himself is the hotel beds. 'A lot of them are way too soft,' said Bethell after the first one-day international against West Indies, his incendiary 82 having helped Harry Brook to a winning start as England captain. 'I have got a bad back and I'm only 21, so we need to sort that out. I might have to walk around with some memory foam. But no, I'm enjoying it.' Related: Brook's England captaincy begins with 238-run mauling of West Indies in first ODI In many ways, being beamed up to the world of international cricket - and the franchise circuit that sits between it and the county game - is nothing new. Bethell has been on the road ever since he swapped Barbados for Rugby School, aged 12, and began training with Warwickshire's coaches every morning before lessons. Like that memory foam, Bethell probably wishes he could take the Edgbaston pitch with wherever he goes. Not that the runs he plundered during Thursday's 238-run win were easy pickings. Granted a platform had been set but there was a fiery spell from the ever-cranky Alzarri Joseph to negotiate before he began depositing the ball into the stands. Even with only a dash of stubble on his youthful features, there is a notable maturity to Bethell that possibly stems from that trans-Atlantic switch. Yet to taste a professional century, but already a three-format international, the all-rounder could be forgiven for a touch of imposter syndrome but instead he sounds as cool as they come. Take missing the recent Zimbabwe Test to sit on the bench at Royal Challengers Bangalore. It felt a misstep by England, not least with Bethell having made such an impression after being parachuted into No 3 in New Zealand last December. And yet the player himself is pretty zen about the whole thing, believing his game to have improved from the experience and not least watching an all-timer like Kohli at close quarters. 'I definitely feel like I got a lot better,' said Bethell. 'I only played the two games, but the training and the facilities, you're facing quality net bowlers and spinners day in, day out. And just the way those batters go about thinking about playing spin, they're pretty clinical in how they pick length and the deliveries they try and hit for four and six. 'I think [Kohli] quite enjoys the overseas boys because we're just pretty chilled around him, but yeah, he's definitely got whatever they say nowadays: 'aura' - It's pretty electrifying to walk out with him. He's got a certain intensity with him, he flips that switch on as soon as he crosses that line, which is pretty cool to see.' As well as 'little day-to-day routines' to stay sane on the road, Bethell is also not one for social media. Instead, it took a friend – it is always a friend – to tell him he had been the subject of a fair few headlines after Ben Stokes seemed to suggest he would be straight back into the Test side to face India, only to later claim his words had been 'twisted'. 'I was pretty far away to be honest,' said Bethell, 'I didn't really hear a lot of it until I think one of my friends messaged me and said the whole thing was going on. But I haven't really followed it. I obviously played in New Zealand as a replacement for a replacement [Jordan Cox suffered an injury on tour, with Jamie Smith already on paternity leave]. So whatever happens, it will be, and when the time comes, it will be fine. 'I'm still trying to cement my place in this one-day side, the T20 side, and if I get a chance in that Test side, I'll be looking to do the same. But at the minute I'm just taking it game by game.' That next game is this Sunday in Cardiff, where England have the chance to wrap up their first series win in ODI cricket since the summer before the 2023 World Cup. Part of the new guard that was ushered in after that sorry campaign and the similarly poor T20 World Cup that followed it, Bethell is starting to bed in.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bowler Cook to make England debut against Zimbabwe
Essex bowler Sam Cook will make his England debut in this week's Test against Zimbabwe, coach Brendon McCullum has confirmed. The 27-year-old, who has been prolific in recent seasons in county cricket, will form an inexperienced bowling attack with Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and spinner Shoaib Bashir. Durham bowler Matthew Potts and Somerset batter James Rew are the two players from the 13-strong squad to have been left out. Zak Crawley has been retained as opener as expected while Ollie Pope returns to number three from the middle order with Jamie Smith back as wicketkeeper after paternity leave. The match, a four-day Test and Zimbabwe's first in England since 2003, begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday. ——————————————————— England team: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (capt), Smith (wk), Atkinson, Tongue, Cook, Bashir. ——————————————————— Man Utd, DJing and Fred the tortoise - meet Sam Cook England set to start key year with callow attack Get cricket news sent straight to your phone England have often favoured pace or variation in height or angle in recent selections but Cook is a more traditional, skilful seam bowler - his debut a reward for his superb County Championship record. Cook's 227 County Championship wickets were the most by any seamer in the past five years while his overall haul of 321 first-class wickets have come at an average of only 19.85. But the pace trio of Cook, Tongue and Atkinson contains only 13 Test caps, making it England's most inexperienced pace attack for 22 years. This will be only the second home Test England have begun without any of Chris Woakes, James Anderson or Stuart Broad - the latter two have now retired - in the past 18 years. Woakes and Mark Wood, England's two most experienced pace bowlers, are currently injured. Nottinghamshire's Tongue will offer captain Ben Stokes a faster bowling option and returns for his first Test since the 2023 Ashes. Hamstring and pectoral injuries prevented him from adding to the two appearances he made that summer, in which he took 10 wickets. The Zimbabwe Test begins a defining run for England's red-ball side with a five-match series against India to follow from 20 June and the Ashes in Australia this winter.
India Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
England captain Ben Stokes determined to excel as all-rounder in home Tests vs India
England's Test captain Ben Stokes has declared himself in the best physical condition of his career as he gears up for a crucial home summer, where he is expected to lead from the front with both bat and ball. The 33-year-old will mark his return from injury in a one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge next week, before England take on India in a highly anticipated five-match Test series beginning June 20 at has been out of action since tearing his hamstring during England's tour of New Zealand in December. But unlike in the past, when he often rushed back prematurely, the England skipper opted for a more cautious and measured recovery this time-an approach he believes has paid off."I've worked incredibly hard on all aspects of everything, from my cricket to fitness, and know I'm going to be in a position when I am back on the field to potentially be in physically the best possible shape I have been in," Stokes told Sky Sports. Injuries have frequently disrupted Stokes' career, largely due to the demands of his all-round role. However, he remains eager to return to that dual responsibility, confident that he can once again make a significant impact in both in terms of my role as a player, that full seamer, batting at six, trying to dominate every situation I find myself, whether I've got a bat or ball in my hand, is what I want to get back doing out on the field, on the biggest stage. I know I've done it before, it's something I've very confident in myself I can do."I always work hard. My ethos when I'm injured is I come back fitter than I was before I got injured. I've worked incredibly hard on all aspects of everything, from my cricket to fitness, and know I'm going to be in a position when I am back on the field to potentially be in physically the best possible shape I have been in," he summer schedule starts with the Zimbabwe Test in Nottingham, followed by the five-match series against India. After the opener in Leeds, the two sides will face off in Birmingham, Lord's, Manchester, and The Oval. The Indian team, currently one of the top-ranked Test sides, brings a formidable bowling attack-making it a challenging test for England's also revealed ongoing conversations with head coach Brendon McCullum about managing his workload and staying fit throughout the demanding summer."I'm 33-I don't want to expose myself to situations where I'm off the field when I don't need to be," Stokes admitted. "I talk to Baz a lot about these things. We've spoken about how he can help me better manage that balance. We've worked together for so long, we know each other inside out, and those discussions have been really constructive."
