Indian cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and esteemed football commentator Peter Drury shared an insightful interaction with each other after Day 2 of the World Test Championship Final between India and Australia. Stalwarts in their own fields, both Bhogle and Drury are considered the voices of their respective sports and hence when the possibility of these two icons interacting with other, sports fans were over the moon.
In a video shared by the International Cricket Council, Harsha Bhogle interviews Peter Drury about his love for cricket and how he manages to balance his fandom for sports while working as a broadcaster. The conversation starts with Drury talking about his experience of watching Day 2 of the WTC Final and expressing that he would have loved to see Virat Kohli bat a bit more as he saw Steven Smith score a century.
Peter Drury said, "This is such a treat for me. I love the oval. It's a beautiful sporting Arena. There's something so natural about it. It feels like Cricket, doesn't it? You sort of feel the history in the bones of the place, the sun shining in early June in England, that's special in itself. The Indian support is absolutely Absolutely phenomenal, I arrived here this morning. Steve Smith hits his first two balls to reach 100. I get to see a little bit of Virat Kohli. You probably wish I'd seen more."
The Englishman then spoke about his love for Test cricket and stressed how the longest form has its own rhythm and its ebbs and flows which create the romance around the sport. He said, “This is a rhythm which Ebbs and flows over the course of 6-7 hours, a day and that I suppose is the essence of test match cricket, you know, it reflects the game itself and that of us and obviously you, I defer to. But those of us who are distant lovers of test match cricket, the highest point of cricket, we love the ebb and the flow.”
Watch the video here:
Further Bhogle asked Peter Drury about his favourite cricket teams as picking a favourite football team would be slightly difficult as he covers the sport. Agreeing with Harsha, Drury picked Kent County and the England cricket team as his favourites and expressed that his fandom hits the roof when he is supporting these teams. He also revealed how watching cricket allows him to escape and enjoy sports from his heart.
He said, “Well, this is, this is my game in the sense that this is my time off, you know, and There's a great part of me, not that. I claim I ever necessarily could have done as a great part of me that is delighted. I don't work in cricket because it becomes my escape.”