Raju Korti
If talking about sport is better than playing it, Alan Wilkins should be its best example. This smiling Welshman has been a very eloquent face on the small screen for over 20 years now. My cricketing instincts brought up and fed on the iconic voices of John Arlott, Brian Johnston, Alan McGilvray, Trevor Bailey, Fred Truman, Christopher Martin Jenkins and Henry Blofeld, could never reconcile with the commentators of the post 90s until Alan took over the mike with his subtle laconic humor.
Composed, relaxed and with a smiling visage, Alan glides the viewer with vividness and a narrative to match. The craft comes to him with a fluency that one rarely sees in those of his ilk now. I was witness to it once when I saw him sitting alongside Harsha Bhogle in the commentator's box. After Harsha was done with his garrulous self with the post-match description at the end of the day, the camera panned on to the Sun going down and Alan, true to his laconic style, latched onto that one like a trice: "The Sun sets on Harsha Bhogle", he said with a mischievous smile that he wears on his face all the time. As I gave him a thumbs up from close by he just smiled in acknowledgement.
Given his articulation as a commentator and his exemplary career as a bowler with Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, I wonder why his book is titled as "Easier Said Than Done: A Life in Sport". I suppose it has something to do with his anguish of a cricketing career cut short by a debilitating shoulder injury he couldn't cope up with. His shift from a prodigious swing bowler to an evocative commentator was seamless. It is no surprise that 35 years since he first stepped into the realm of sport broadcasting, the 64-year-old has now chronicled his journey from cricketer and rugby player to a broadcaster. My gut feeling is that his sense of anguish has now been eclipsed by his proficiency with the microphone and camera rather than with a bat and ball. And when you know he has a degree in Sports Science (Psychology), it is easy to understand why he has been able to forge great friendships with legends of the sporting world and put his finger on the pulse of the game. The "swing" of his life makes for an absorbing reading mainly because Alan keeps the narrative simple and flowing. Yet, Alan is much more than than the man we always see in front of the camera. Maybe that's how he justifies the title of the book.
When I saw the book at Crossword I did not even blink before buying it. The very thought of reading someone who spoke as well was tempting enough. As someone who often covered matches from the Press Box I crossed his path several times and even thought of meeting him for a write up but somehow it never happened.
The small consolation, however, is this book that he specially signed up for me yesterday. I am sure I will catch up with him in flesh and blood to partake of his playful witticism one day. That he continues to be a revelation each time I see him commentating is quite another story.
Amazing��
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