A Sceptic’s Review of the Alternative Cricket Commentary Collective Almanack
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By Kiwi Kali
“It’s actually quite good” is the cover quote attributed to Daniel Vettori. And I must admit, without knowing the veracity of the provenance of the quote, I tend to agree.
I’m a lifelong Blackcaps fan. Most people in my life know this, but what they may not know is that I’ve never really understood the appeal of the ACC, and for this reason, I received the Almanack as a Christmas present*, thoughtfully accompanied by an exchange card “in case I’d already bought it”.
I am a purist cricket fan, with no time for T20, international or otherwise, and may have coined the derogatory phrase “Whatchamahoohoo” to refer to it. I would rather watch cricket on mute on TV than listen to most modern day commentary. Despite this, I have long been a supporter of alternative commentary. During the 2011 Cricket World Cup, while living in Melbourne with no access to pay TV, the only way I could follow New Zealand games was by listening to what was then Test Match Sofa, which has now evolved into Guerilla [sic] Cricket, and I remain a financial supporter. But the ACC shtick of the puerile nicknames and commentary topics have never made me feel like it was intended for me.
However, in that loss of time-space continuum that is the two weeks around Christmas and New Year, I opened up the ACC Almanack, and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Dylan Cleaver, of the ACC-adjacent BYC podcast, has lent his journalistic expertise to the book, and this is evident, particularly in the first chapter, which summarises the early history that lead to the ACC. I lived overseas from 2010-2016, so missed the early days of the ACC, and I found that background very interesting.
Among the humour are also tidbits like reflections on why the transition from cricket to rugby commentary wasn’t an instant success, and the poignant story of Mike Lane’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. There are chapters devoted to the 2015 and 2019 Cricket World Cup Blackcaps campaigns, and while my inner voice was still yelling “TOO SOON”, there is a wonderful sense of collective memory reading those pages. And of course, the 2021 inaugural World Test Championship victory is rightly celebrated.
So, while it hasn’t converted me into an Alternative Cricket Collective commentary listener, the Almanack far exceeded my expectations, and will not be listed on TradeMe as an unwanted Christmas present (is that still a thing?).
* The same friend also gifted me this amazing Cricket Fan print (https://www.taracassidy.com/product-page/cricket-fan), which now has pride of place on the staircase, facing the 2021 WTC Final scorecard (https://www.cricketkit.org/wtc2021).
Alternative Commentary Collective Almanack, A Decade of New Zealand Sports. By Mike Lane and Matt Heath with Dylan Cleaver. Published by Penguin.
https://www.penguin.co.nz/books/the-alternative-commentary-collective-almanack-9781776951130
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