Everlasting Summer

For 90 years the ABC has brought cricket to people all over Australia: listening on tractors, at the beach, in caravan parks and at work. Everyone has memories to share of listening to the cricket on the ABC.And, your favourite commentators offer their stories from behind the microphone. Whether it's sharing the commentary box with Prime Ministers, or being caught out by a broken hat trick, or getting locked in the ladies' toilet at a ground, what's going on behind the scenes isn't always going as smoothly as it sounds on air!

By the 1980s, a diversity of international teams was touring Australia with much greater frequency than ever before.Sri Lanka visited for the first time in 1982-83, and the West Indies, Pakistan and India were touring far more regularly. Australian teams were also playing in these countries more often, and the commentary team introduced new voices.What impact did hearing coverage of visiting teams have on local communities, especially South Asian and West Indian Australians?What was the experience of broadcasting from South Asia and the West Indies like?

After the tumultuous Bodyline series, Australia toured England in 1934 and 1938. The technology of the day wasn't up to live direct broadcasts from the other side of the world, so a different method of bringing cricket to Australian audiences was developed. Make believe was involved!Cables were sent from the match venue on the other side of the world to the ABC. From this brief information, commentators in the Sydney studio elaborated a description of the play. They added their own sound effects of the ball being hit, and crowd noise was played off a gramophone recording.It was ingenious but what did listeners at the time think they were hearing? Did they know it was largely made up?

Everyone's got their own memories of hearing cricket on the ABC: on holidays at the beach, driving trucks or tractors, or lying in bed late at night. The very first live national sports broadcast by the ABC was the infamous Bodyline series of 1932/33. Over 90 years cricket commentary has become the soundtrack to summer. Meet the characters behind the microphone, get insights into the art of commentary and hear tall tales and true from the commentary box.