A Special Love For Cricket

Christopher Martin Jenkins, well loved commentator for BBC radio's Test Match Special and erstwhile Chief Cricket Correspondent to The Times, visited Marlborough to air his views on modern cricket and sports journalism.

Written by Edmund Davison

It seemed appopriate that, on my way to hear Christopher Martin Jenkins speak, I should stop off to watch the end of the House cricket final. Dramatically, the batting side won the game with just a ball to spare. Chatting to a spectator, I learnt that the claimed hero of the match had supposedly edged the ball to the keeper in the infancy of his innings but had not ‘walked.’

Christopher Martin Jenkins has strong views about the game but few so vehement as on this subject: “As was laid out at the beginning, the batsman must always walk, in keeping with the spirit of the game.”  That sounds almost biblical but cricket evidently is like a religion to this man.

He enthused his packed-in audience with an intimate knowledge of the game and his insightful account of cricket’s evolution. He entertained  us with stories from the commentary box – one of his colleagues fell asleep prematurely before the tea break – and elucidated his views on modern cricket and sports journalism. He was a pleasure to listen to and an apt role model for aspiring writers and cricketers.