Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2020

35 www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk What should have been a golden opportunity for cricket, though, ended just as Vaughan eventually lifted the urn at the Oval, heralding a new era for the English game on the field. Cricket soon moved behind Sky TV’s paywall and, although we were fortunate enough to have ‘cable’, as we called it, so many millions of others did not. At a time when cricket should have been accessible to everyone, it disappeared to most. In fairness, Sky Sports have done a better job at covering the game than anyone could have, for my money, and the cash they pump into the game has been remarkable. But at what cost to the health of the game? We’ll never know, I guess. How many kids have missed out on learning of the talents of Cook, Strauss, Anderson? Worldwide, of Tendulkar or Warne? That’s why, for me, the best thing Sky Sports have ever done for the future of cricket was give it away. This summer, when England reached the final of their own World Cup, Sky allowed C4 to screen it, free-to-air. Around 4.5million people watched Ben Stokes and Co. win the trophy after a thrilling super over, but those numbers pale into insignificance compared to other sports - say, Wimbledon or the women’s football World Cup - when they were aired on terrestrial TV. Sky’s move was admirable, savvy even. But was it too Sheffield Star Sports Journalist, DANNY HALL, ponders if imminent free-to-air television coverage can recreate his youthful enthusiasm for a new audience. telly…. little, too late? Then C4 barely helped themselves either by showing its World Cup highlights after midnight! From 2020, 10 matches per year from the ECB’s new ‘The Hundred’ competition, and two men’s international Twenty20s, will be screened live on the BBC. It’s not much, granted, but it’s a start. And as a new generation of kids begin to fall in love with the game, dreaming of being the next Stokes or Joe Root, let’s hope it’s enough.