"No Easy Days for Fast Bowlers" : Robin Jackman

[MenInG]

Indian born Jackman featured in 19 international matches for England between 1974 and 1983 taking 33 wickets in total.

Jackman had close ties with South Africa, coaching and representing Rhodesia and Western Province over 11 English winters. When chosen to tour the West Indies in 1980-81, the Guyanese government objected to his involvement with the then apartheid South Africa, and revoked his visa. The second Test was thus cancelled, as the English management chose not to yield to political pressure.

Jackman also represented Surrey and Western Province in a first class career that spanned 16 years and nowadays can be found in the comfort of the commentary box around the world. Recently he commentated on the Pakistan versus Australia limited over series in the UAE.



PakPassion.net: What is it that interests you in your current profession as a TV commentator?

Robin Jackman: The game of cricket in all formats. I have a passion for the game and feel very privileged to have been involved with the game on a professional basis now for 47 years.


PakPassion.net:Do you feel that standards of Television commentary have improved over time or do you feel that commercial/sponsor interests are affecting the style and content?

Robin Jackman: More ex-players are now turning to commentary and so the public will always get up to date views but it would be fair to say that styles and content have been affected in certain instances but not necessarily in a negative way.


PakPassion.net:Which is tougher? Being a player or a commentator?

Robin Jackman:Being a player definitely.


PakPassion.net:How difficult is it for a commentator to remain “neutral”?

Robin Jackman:Being neutral and sounding neutral are two very different things.


PakPassion.net:Have you ever nearly lost your temper with a fellow commentator whilst on air?

Robin Jackman: No never!


PakPassion.net:Having seen Pakistan in action in UAE and other venues, what is it that impresses you the most? What is the most frustrating aspect of watching Pakistan play?

Robin Jackman: What impresses me the most is the abundance of natural talent that the Pakistan team possess but the lack of consistency is what frustrates me the most.


PakPassion.net:How impressed were you with Nasir Jamshed recently against Australia in UAE?

Robin Jackman: Very impressed, I think he has a wonderful future.


PakPassion.net: You have visited Pakistan on previous occasions for commentary, what do you think of the country and the people?

Robin Jackman: I have always been made to feel very welcome in Pakistan by all the people. I have made lasting friends over the years and enjoy their hospitality when visiting.


PakPassion.net:Do you think more needs to be done to encourage the return of international cricket to Pakistan?

Robin Jackman: The whole cricketing world would like to see Pakistan playing in Pakistan again and their supporters deserve to be able to watch them playing at home. I am not sure just how possible this can be if there is a threat of a repeat of the awful attack that happened when Sri Lanka last toured.


PakPassion.net:Tell us about your thoughts on the current standard of fast bowling around the world at the moment?

Robin Jackman: There are many new and exciting fast bowlers emerging all the time. In general I think the standard is very high but there will always be the odd one that stands out amongst the rest.


PakPassion.net:Any young fast bowlers who you think have a very bright future?

Robin Jackman: I am very impressed with the two Australians, Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins.


PakPassion.net:What can young fast bowlers learn from Dale Steyn and his impressive levels of consistency in all formats?

Robin Jackman: Dale is a wonderful bowler and he works very very hard at keeping up the high standards that he sets himself and that Allan Donald sets him. Any young fast bowler must understand that he has chosen a tough career and there are no easy days.


PakPassion.net:The best bit of advice you were given in terms of bowling fast and by whom?

Robin Jackman: That I had chosen a tough career and there weren’t any easy days, told to me by my father.


PakPassion.net: What do you think of the involvement of 'Politics' in cricket? Do you think even today there is some degree of politics in cricket?

Robin Jackman: All the time nations have ministers of sport, politics will be involved in sport. Simple as that.


PakPassion.net: Does sports psychology really play a big part in making players mentally stronger? Or does it depend more on the player?

Robin Jackman: I have become a huge fan of the new way forward and the various other experts who are called in to assist teams but I do feel that their success depends hugely on the individuals that they are working with.


PakPassion.net: What do you make of the Champions League in it's current format and do you think that the Champions League is a requirement in the modern game?

Robin Jackman: I think it is fine and has merely become an extension of the IPL. It seems to make sense to have a tournament to see who the best of the best is.


PakPassion.net: Are T20 tournaments popping up all over the world a genuine threat to Test cricket?

Robin Jackman: No. Absolutely not.


PakPassion.net: Do you see more players becoming freelance cricketers around the world?

Robin Jackman: Unfortunately yes.

 

[EvoCricket]

It's a pleasure of PakPassion of interviewing the one and only Robin Jackman!

 

[MenInG]

And a warm welcome to the airwaves for Robin Jackman.

 

[The Viper]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We are saddened to learn about the death of legendary commentator and former England bowler Robin Jackman, who has passed away aged 75.<br><br>The thoughts of the cricketing world go out to his family and friends during this difficult time. <a href="https://t.co/J0fw99qoXC">pic.twitter.com/J0fw99qoXC</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1342557492790890496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Markhor]

Oh no ! Jackman had a wonderful and unique voice for commentary.

I remember him fondly especially for the 2004 Jeet Lo Dil series and the Platinum Jubilee match.

 

[Yk313]

Rest in Peace. Such a soothing voice on air and an amicable person to go with it.

 

[Markhor]

"He should get twelve for that !"

When Razzaq hit Balaji onto the roof of NSK. Hard to believe two commentators from that series, Jackman and Dean Jones, are now gone.

 

[ElRaja]

was a big fan of his commentary, measured and concise.

 

[Omer2002]

I loved his commentary

 

[Zaz]

He spoke very well and was great to listen to

always came across as someone who had a lot of fondness for pakistani cricket and cricketers RIP jack

 

[Junaids]

First and foremost, let him Rest In Peace.

Secondly, his repeated choice to play in South Africa at the peak of Apartheid ultimately wrecked England’s 1980-81 tour of the West Indies. The Second Test was cancelled and the delightful Ken Barrington - who was managing the tour - died of a heart attack just after the team was expelled from Guyana to Barbados.

Nobody forced white English cricketers in those days to go to South Africa. And precious few - and certainly not Jackman - ever expressed any remorse or regret.

But Jackman was unique in that his embrace of Apartheid ruined a cricket tour and almost destroyed the Commonwealth.

The 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Melbourne, the 1983 one in New Delhi and the 1985 one in the Bahamas were all dominated by the Jackman Affair and the incredible damage that it did to the Commonwealth.

No other cricketer in history - not even Douglas Jardine - did as much to damage international relations.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

RIP. All the entertaining commentators from my childhood/adolescent years - are vanishing one by one. Hopefully Michael Clarke, KP and others can keep the young kids watching entertained and develop an interest in the sport. Cany expect that of the likes of Nasser and his skulduggery

 

[Hitman]

Rest in Peace!

 

[Last Monetarist]

Immensely saddened by this news, one of the abiding memories from the nineties was listening to Jackers and Trevor Quirk commentate for the SABC.

A truly wonderful voice, easily the best commentator on South African television and I've missed listening to him over the past 5 years. RIP.

 

[Last Monetarist]

First and foremost, let him Rest In Peace.

Secondly, his repeated choice to play in South Africa at the peak of Apartheid ultimately wrecked England’s 1980-81 tour of the West Indies. The Second Test was cancelled and the delightful Ken Barrington - who was managing the tour - died of a heart attack just after the team was expelled from Guyana to Barbados.

Nobody forced white English cricketers in those days to go to South Africa. And precious few - and certainly not Jackman - ever expressed any remorse or regret.

But Jackman was unique in that his embrace of Apartheid ruined a cricket tour and almost destroyed the Commonwealth.

The 1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Melbourne, the 1983 one in New Delhi and the 1985 one in the Bahamas were all dominated by the Jackman Affair and the incredible damage that it did to the Commonwealth.

No other cricketer in history - not even Douglas Jardine - did as much to damage international relations.

Jackman did no more damage than any other cricketer that embraced the krugerrand. That last line is hyperbole given the role of Colin Cowdrey and Gubby Allen in the D'Oliveira affair.

 

[KoyoAli]

JOHANNESBURG: As the Proteas took to the field for the Boxing Day test match today, Cricket South Africa joins the cricketing world in mourning the loss of Robin David Jackman (1945-2020). Jackman, a county and England test cricketer was especially known here for his legendary cricket commentary.

His distinctive voice took us through the highs and lows of cricket over decades.

Born in Shimla India on 13 August 1945, the family returned to Surrey, England in 1946. Jackman, schooled in Canterbury went on to play in four Tests and 15 one-day internationals for England, while he took 1,402 wickets in a 399-game first-class career between 1966 and 1982.

He eventually settled in South Africa with his wife, Yvonne, a nurse from Grahamstown.

In South Africa, ‘Jackers’ as he was affectionately known, was a household voice for all who loved and followed cricket. Always passionate and knowledgeable, he was also known for his big-hearted enjoyment of life. In 2012 he was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal chords. He continued commentating for a while and was also very actively involved in fundraising for the Mercy Ships and Grace Vision.

His passing, a few days after the death of his former Surrey team-mate, John Edrich, leaves a void in the cricketing world but particularly in South African cricketing life. We mourn the loss of a fine man, a lover of life, a cricket aficionado and a commentator who became part of the fabric of South African cricket in so many ways.

RIP, Jackers.

 

[Junaids]

Jackman did no more damage than any other cricketer that embraced the krugerrand. That last line is hyperbole given the role of Colin Cowdrey and Gubby Allen in the D'Oliveira affair.

I happen to agree EXCEPT that the MCC kept their actions tightly secret.

 

[Rajdeep]

He was one of my favorite commentators. Rest in peace.

 

[Muhammad]

He played 2 tests against Pakistan in 1982.

In fact his dismissal by Imran at Lords was the first wicket I ever saw live at a test match. He then frustrated us for a while in the second innings with the bat but thankfully wasn’t costly as we completed a historic win.

Remember he had a rather unusual upright approach to the wicket.

Thought he was a good commentator and undeniably a Surrey legend.

 

[Junaids]

He played 2 tests against Pakistan in 1982.

In fact his dismissal by Imran at Lords was the first wicket I ever saw live at a test match. He then frustrated us for a while in the second innings with the bat but thankfully wasn’t costly as we completed a historic win.

Remember he had a rather unusual upright approach to the wicket.

Thought he was a good commentator and undeniably a Surrey legend.

Funnily enough, he had a very similar bowling action to Sarfraz Nawaz!