There comes a time when chroniclers of our sporting encounters themselves become riveting stories to be told. As one of the most recognisable faces and voices of global sports broadcasting, Alan Wilkins has one such story to tell about his eventful journey from a county cricketer to a widely respected multi-sports commentator. His recently released book "Easier Said Than Done" (Roli Books) traces the strands and weaves together different aspects of his interesting engagements with life and world of sports.

In this conversation about his book, Wilkins dwells on a number of themes that defined his short-lived career as a left-arm medium pace bowler playing for Glamorgan and Gloucestershire before his career was cut short by an injury. He also tells us about the issues that engage him as a globetrotting broadcaster. He argues why he called his playing years of the late 70s and early 80s as "halcyon" age of world cricket, what revolutionalised the game and why a healthy "balanced diet" of co-existence of shorter formats like T-20 and newly-floated The Hundred in England with the traditional Test cricket is must for world cricket. He reflects on the role of broadcasting and need for widening the appeal of cricket as prime movers behind the idea of Hundred.

The challenge of covering sports as varied as cricket, tennis, golf, rugby and Formula 1 racing and his stint as a popular broadcaster of Wimbledon -- all that figures in the interview. Pondering the effect of social media on star players, he identifies privacy as a casualty and vitriolic personal attacks as an unintended consequence of online engagement.
Going back to his younger days, he recounts why he preferred professional sports and broadcasting to a career in teaching (something he is academically qualified for). He lists batsmen he found most difficult to bowl to and why uprooting Vivian Richards' off-stump was so special moment for him. He doesn't forget to point out to his critics that touring South Africa for his sporting and broadcasting assignments during apartheid-regime was his way of knowing South Africa first hand and a way of answering his curiosity.  It's a decision that he doesn't regret and that time also he found the calls for boycott hypocritical considering Britain and South Africa had normal financial ties.

All that and more in this chat.

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