Mark Nicholas has bittersweet memories of his role fronting Channel 4’s coverage of the 2005 Ashes, his pride in the enduring “mythology” of the series tinged by sadness at the end of the free-to-air era.
Nicholas was the broadcasting anchor charged with carrying a rapt nation through many of the key moments of a contest that remains seared into the memories of cricket fans.
Heading up an elite commentary cast featuring the likes of the late Richie Benaud and Tony Greig, as well as Sir Geoffrey Boycott, Michael Atherton and Michael Slater, Nicholas’ debonair style crystallised many of the most thrilling moments as England regained the urn for the first time in 18 years.
One passage in particular lives on, Steve Harmison’s vital dismissal of Michael Clarke at Edgbaston and the subsequent call of: “One of the great balls! Given the moment, given the batsman, given the match…that is a staggering gamble!”
Speaking to the PA news agency two decades later, the current MCC chair reflects: “You hear a lot of soundbites from that series, even 20 years on. Some of what I said didn’t always make much sense, but I think the best commentary is reactive. When you plan to say certain things it doesn’t work as well.
“David Bowie once gave an interview about ‘Life on Mars’ and said, ‘It’s a good song but I’ve no idea what I was writing about’. I sort of know what he means, you can be creatively successful completely unintentionally.
“I cannot tell you how often I get stopped, people telling me with all their hearts that 2005 and our coverage of it was what got them into cricket.
“Of course, it was the fact that England beat Australia after so long and that it was so thrilling. But to hear people, even England cricketers, say you helped get them into the game…you can’t be more flattered than that.
“Some of us brought hyperbole, some did the deep analysis, Richie was minimalism brilliantly applied. I remain more proud of that time than anything else in my career, there was a certain element of mythology for all of us that summer, players and commentators alike.”
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Yet 2005 was not just the high water mark for Nicholas’ BAFTA-winning team, it was also the end of the road.
Sky television took over exclusive broadcast rights of English cricket in the aftermath, with home Tests having lost their ‘Crown Jewel’ status as a category A listed event.
It remains a source of regret to Nicholas that the surge of public interest, which saw 7.4 million viewers tune in to the Oval finale, instantly encountered a paywall.
“I do feel desperately sad that an opportunity was blown. It will never leave me,” he says.
“They had to make sure Test match cricket stayed (free to air), even if it was in a joint broadcast, and if that meant a bit less money then so be it.
“I’m not anti-Sky at all, I’m glued to their coverage three or four nights a week. But it was a bad misjudgement. Cricket was a very powerful thing at that moment and it was the time to make sure that continued.
“I was asked to co-host the celebration at Trafalgar Square with David Gower and I remember walking home through London with my wife after the crowds cleared. All the way back I was feeling an extraordinary contradiction of euphoric happiness at the summer that had gone and the terrible sadness of losing the coverage.”
