EACH year the number of great sports commentators seems to diminish. John Arlott, Henry Longhurst, Dan Maskell and Kenneth Wolstenholme are dead. David Coleman and Bill McLaren have retired. Richie Benaud will not be heard in England again. This is our tribute to those who have entertained us as we near the 40th anniversary of Wolstenholme informing us that the 1966 World Cup was now all over.

Our list of great commentary has not been compiled scientifically. A straw poll of The Times sports staff brought forth the following 25 suggestions. It could easily have been 50 and we are sure that you will not agree with every one.

There is nothing from Brian Johnston, much loved though his joshing was; there will be no dancing in the streets of Hawick tonight after the omission of McLaren; Peter O’Sullevan and Peter Alliss have been spurned. It was nothing personal. If we have missed any of your favourites, let us know.

But we feel that this is a collection of some of the finest words, or even just sounds, breathed into our ears over almost 60 years. Times readers can vote on our website for what they think is the greatest.

Who will follow the greats of the past? The likes of Garry Herbert, John McEnroe and David Feherty show promise. One thing is certain: as long as there is sport, there will be people who get eloquently passionate about it.

1948
Bradman out for a duck
JOHN ARLOTT

“Hollies pitches the ball up slowly and . . . he’s bowled . . . Bradman bowled Hollies nought . . . bowled Hollies nought . . . and what do you say under these circumstances? I wonder if you see the ball very clearly in your last Test in England, on a ground where you’ve played some of the biggest cricket in your life and where the opposing side has just stood round you and given you three cheers and the crowd has clapped you all the way to the wicket. I wonder if you see the ball at all.”

• This train of thought from Arlott catches the emotion of the final ball bowled in Test matches to cricket’s finest batsman. A musing rather than a description, understated, contemplative, it reflects the best things about the Hampshire man.

  Arlott was a member of the BBC’s commentary team from 1946 to 1980, despite fears in the corporation that his accent was not Oxbridge enough. He joined as a poetry producer, a fine qualification for a man who would broadcast simply but beautifully. “Talk to the blind man who once could see” was his philosophy. Arlott died in 1991.

  1951-1991
  The greatest catchphrase
  DAN MASKELL

  “Oh I say.”

• Should we include a catchphrase? Well maybe just one (although there were advocates of David Coleman’s ringing “One-nil”). Maskell’s ecstatic celebration of a good shot, often accompanied by something along the lines of “that was a peach”, summed up summer and Wimbledon.

  Maskell was a good player, 16 times the British champion, and coached the Great Britain team that won the 1933 Davis Cup. He worked as a summariser for BBC Radio in 1949 and 1950 before beginning as a commentator the next year. He died in 1992.

  1966
  Know your dimensions
  KENNETH WOLSTENHOLME

  “It’s only twelve inches high, it’s solid gold, and it means that England are the world champions.”

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