Test Match Special, Twenty20 and the future of cricket

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the contribution of Test Match Special (TMS) to the discourses of cricket. TMS is more than a sporting radio broadcast: it is a cricketing institution, indeed for many people TMS is cricket. Since its launch on the BBC in 1957 TMS has developed a unique relationship with cricket, performatively mediating the changing discourses that surround the game. TMS is shaped by these discourses and in turn shapes perceptions of the game for its audience. It is this reciprocal relationship that makes an analysis of TMS relevant here. In this paper I make use of the relation between TMS and cricket to analyse changing discourses of cricket through an examination of commentary on two forms of the game: the Test match and Twenty20, taking as my case England's recent tour of Australia (2010/11) which comprised five Tests and two Twenty20 matches. In the paper I examine the narrative construction of both formats and draw out some implications for the future direction(s) of cricket.