Jim Maxwell: Celebrating 50 years of Australia’s ‘Voice of Summer’ – Stumped, BBC World Service

We celebrate our very own Jim Maxwell who has been part of ABC for fifty years.

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On this week’s show, Stumped’s Jim Maxwell has been a part of ABC for 50 years – joining the organisation at the age of 22 in 1973 as a trainee and has now commentated on over 300 Test matches. Jim shares how he started his commentary career with Alison Mitchell and Charu Sharma, he also tells us about his favourite moments that he has witnessed and how recovering from the stroke he suffered in 2016 gave him a different outlook on life.

The team are also joined by former Australia bowler and a player who has shared the commentary box with Jim for many years, Kerry O’Keeffe. Kerry gives us insight into how the pair met, if he has ever known Jim to be tongue-tied and what they get up to both on and off air.

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Hello and welcome to Stumped. Your intercontinental hit  of news, features and debate from the quirky world of cricket. I’m Alison  Mitchell at my cousin’s house in Adelaide. Which is where I’ll stay for Christmas Day before flying to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test. Hello, Jim Maxwell in Sydney.  We love rain in Sydney.

We’re getting it all out of the way  before a Test match in the New Year. So that’s the most pleasing  aspect of the weather here at   the moment. So it’s nice to be with you all again. I’m Charu Sharma for Akashvani. Back  after yet another long bout of travel.

I’m really glad to be back home in Bangalore. Great weather amongst many other things. Let’s get on with the show  and on this week’s Stumped, first of all, the year is 1973. The Sydney Opera House was opened,  Richard Nixon was US president,

Billie Jean King won the Battle of the  Sexes tennis match and most importantly, our very own Jim Maxwell, yes, that’s you,  Jim, you were joining the ABC in that year. Australia’s ‘Voice of Summer’. So this week on Stumped,   we’re actually going to be celebrating  you and your fifty years with the ABC.

And let’s not forget the forty years you’ve   been involved with the BBC’s  Test Match Special as well. But goodness me, what a half century it has been. Wow it does bring back a few emotions  when you start pouring over the red   hot coals of fifty years and the rest of it, yes.

Have you actually kept a tally of how  many Test matches you have now covered? There’ll be One Dayer’s and World Cups  in amongst that, but for Test Matches? Well I started some years ago when  asked this question, to do an audit, so I sorted it all out because I’ve missed quite  

A few because I was doing  other things at other times. But the one in Perth was 336. Which resonates with Wally Hammond’s innings   against New Zealand for what it  is worth being a statistical edit. Well we have got a special message for  you from somebody who you have shared

A cricket commentary box with over many  years and on many different occasions. Although most notably when Australia and  England have been playing each other. Have a listen. Hey, Jim. Look where I am, I’m  outside your favourite pub. You have made this place almost  your own over the years haven’t you?

When you have come and stayed with me. It’s always great fun to have you in the village. Fifty years, blimey, how  have you managed fifty years? How have we stood fifty years of listening to you? Well very easily is the answer. You are  second to none and brilliant at what you do.

The true absolute voice to Australian cricket   and it’s been an absolute pleasure  to work with you all these years. I’ve got traffic coming here, it  is a busy junction as you know,   so I am gonna love you and leave you. But I’m going to ask you,  

Jim. What’s your favourite moment of  cricket commentary over the years? Shame you weren’t on for Ben  Stokes at Headingley isn’t it? See you soon mate, bye. Well, that was Aggers of course, Jonathan  Agnew, the BBC’s cricket correspondent. Go on, Jim, your call to answer that question.

Well, I’ve thought about this in the last few  years and over the last twenty years really. Thank you Aggers as you have  been a great great companion   and friend and outstanding at what you do. Which everyone in Australia enjoys  and I do too. It has been outstanding.

Look when I think about things like the moment. You know, most of them are  when Australia has lost. That is when you are almost at your best! We are the only Test team that has had 400 plus scored against them on a number of occasions.

And I’ve been there at the end of those. We have lost the game at Headingley, yes, in 2019. We won a couple of good ones  just recently in the Ashes, at Edgbaston and Lord’s, yes. And I go back to South Africa and the West Indies. Those big runs scored against us.

There have been a lot where we have  been on the wrong end of the argument. So it is like someone saying: ‘Who is the best batsman you have  seen?’ or ‘Who is the best bowler?’ You could go on forever. Well  I can offer you one, Jim.

You go and throw one at me  and see if I remember it. My favourite clip of yours, it is when you called the end of the Edgbaston Ashes Test in 2005 and it was coming down to the wire, but it looked as if Australia would  probably get these last couple of runs.

Runs are often more likely than a wicket, right? When you get right down to the wire and  it’s often the case that the visiting or the commentator from the country you  think will win are often given the honour   of calling the winning moment in the Test match.

So you had been given the microphone thinking that Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz  would squeak Australia over the line and then that last wicket fell and  the catch behind from Geraint Jones. And the emotion in your voice there. The feeling. You captured the moment, which I think  is just testament to your professionalism

As a commentator and the  fact that it didn’t matter whether you are an England supporter or  an Australian supporter in that moment. You felt the moment. And for me, that’s a hallmark of  absolute greatness for a commentator. You’re the neutral and you have to make  it as exciting and thrilling for all the  

Listeners and no matter who they are supporting. Well, thank you Ali. Yes, I  remember Peter Baxter keeping me on, because at that moment, it looked  like Australia was going to win and the same thing happened  in 2019, you might recall. When Ben Stokes guided England to  that thrilling victory at Headingley

And Adam Mountford kept me there for a long while. Because it looked certain that  Australia was going to win and they eventually got to a point. I had been on for quite a while  and I turned to Adam and I said, ‘I’m going to get out of here, the only way we’re  

Going to win this game, is if I’m if  I’m not on air and Aggers is here’ . It might have gone that way,  but still, yes, the moments. And another one that comes back now that you got me going on the nostalgia and the rest.

Is in a One Day game that  Michael Bevan famously won off the last ball of the SCG. By hitting Roger Harper over his head for four. That was quite an occasion too when you  sort of sum up all of the adrenaline and excitement that is going  into the conclusion of a match.

But just to be part of so many aspects of  the game, and not just a thrilling finish, but thrilling cricket to watch  and you talk about the 2005 Ashes. But you have to say, other than the washout at   Old Trafford which even had some  excitement when it was playing.

The last series for the Ashes was  probably as good as any we’ve ever had, in terms of the adrenaline pumping and the need to go to the  cardiologist after every game. I think the birds behind you Jim, are  also aware that it is a special occasion,

Because they are chirping away saying:  ‘Jim, congratulations on the fifty’. Well I’ve got to quickly mention a moment  where Jim, we met for the first time. This was a series where, I forget the year because my memory is not as  magical as the rest of you.

2011 in Sri Lanka. And you were doing the  radio and we were doing the television. I was invited for that. And  then you were invited into   the television commentary box for a few stints. And I remember the producer at the end  of, there was somebody who got a hundred,

Like I said my memory is not quite like yours. Of   course they showed the montage  for the one hundred, right. So many commentators on television,   have the habit of saying that was  another lovely drive through the covers for a boundary and then, of course he  flicked this one through mid-wicket,  

With all the details when  you are seeing it yourself. Anyway, there was Jim  Maxwell, who came in and said: ‘And he cut and he pulled and he  drove and he got to his hundred’. So there was in here. You’ve  got the rest of the fluff out.

I remember the producer saying:  ‘Hey, that’s how you do a highlight’ So Jim, the thumbs up for that one. And of course I’m so glad  that we’ve had eight years to share these wonderful memories through Stumped. And of course I remember you ordering  everybody barramundi in Sydney, saying:

‘That’s the thing to do’. The barramundi. And what did I get for my prize,   as somebody who bested the two of you  in that little cricket quiz we had here? A bottle of Vegemite, thank  you. I think you ate it all. That is why I am still alive.

You didn’t clean your shoes  with it did you I hope? Yes some people do think that it  is good boot polish, I disagree. Jim, I want to ask you a personal question because you did have your stroke back in 2016, whilst you were broadcasting the Rio Olympics.

How has that impacted on your outlook on life? On you yourself, but also on  whether you thought that you   would actually get back into commentary  and cricket commentary in particular? Ah, well, in the immediate aftermath of it,   I wasn’t very confident because  I wasn’t spitting the words out.

And I was less mobile than I am now,  so that was a little bit of a downer. But I dunno, somehow I got it  together and it took a while and I think out of that, I probably,  I don’t think you’d have to say

I have taken a bit more, at times, an  irreverent view of life and cricket. It’s just a game, you know. Maybe you  focus a bit more on your mortality. When you had of bit of a setback and realise that you’re no longer indestructible and immortal

And you have to change your behaviour a  little bit and stick with the flow of it. But, yes, it was an extraordinary period  of my life and I am grateful to my wife Jen and to everyone else who was around me, because

It didn’t, it didn’t look good for a while  there, about ever broadcasting again. But it was it was just a phase as it  turned out, which a bit of TLC got me over. So here it is. I’m still putting my foot  in my mouth and getting on with it I think.

Well we are mighty pleased you came through it and tremendous credit to you and your  personal willpower and dedication to rehab. Well Jim, we were thinking long and hard this week about someone who could join us on Stumped to tell us some stories about your  very distinguished commentary career

And we think we’ve found the right person. And when we asked him to  come on, he said and I quote: ‘I will be 10% complimentary about Jim  and the other 90% will be a roasting’. So that might give you a clue  as to who we are joined by.

Welcome to Stumped, someone who sat next to you in the ABC commentary box for many a year, its former Australia leg spinner Kerry O Keeffe. Kerry welcome to Stumped, I am very glad Jim and   Kerry to be able to reunite you both  and it is wonderful to have you on.

First of all, what do you make  of Jim reaching this milestone? Fifty years is a heck of a long  time, more than my entire lifetime? It’s a triumph for resilience,  isn’t it, let’s be frank. And for an undiminished love of Test  cricket, to get through half a century,

Where his passion for the game is the same as it   was when he started under Alan  McGilvray all those years ago. And in an era where, the Australia  passion for Test cricket is diminishing, Jim’s our flag bearer and  I’ve fallen in behind you.

We are a small group, we are  ageing, but we’re not going away. No, I think there are some other  lovers of Test cricket as well. It depends whether the authorities  also love Test cricket doesn’t it? Tell us Kerry, about when you and  Jim met for the very first time.

Oh, we met in the early  1970’s, but it wasn’t until,   it was my watershed moment in my life in 2001, when I was asked to do the final Test of an Australia against West Indies series at the SCG. And I dabbled in cricket  commentary for a few years.

And I decided that I would  commit completely to that   Test match and I thought I would last one Test. And despite hundreds of  complaining emails every year, I did fourteen years alongside Jim. And it gave me compass. My life has  changed markedly in the last twenty years.

It’s been the best twenty years of my life and I owe a lot of that to ABC Grandstand Cricket, of which Jim was a principal in that. Jim, these days of course it’s largely cricketers   and very few of those who haven’t  played the highest grade survive.

But luckily you’ve started  your commentary at a time when people were a little bit more accepting of those who may not have  played at the highest level yet. Was it a problem, was it a stress and was there an undue pressure  when you started your career?

It was intimidating, because I had  Alan McGilvray right alongside me either in the box or perhaps in the  bar, we may have gone there too, and Lindsay Hassett on the other side. I mean, these were hugely respected  people in the game of cricket

And I was just a kid comparatively who  had crept into ABC sport as a trainee, so I didn’t have any place  really and I had to go quietly. And you have to remember that the whole thing about cricket commentary in those  days was so much more formal

Than it became when Kerry was  on board with Peter Roebuck. It’s so conversational now. People are more relaxed, just  generally in life I suppose. But there was a formality about  broadcasting in those days and you had to stick to the disciplines and (Alan) McGilvray was a stickler  and as knowledgeable as he was,

There was not a lot of  laughs in the commentary box as there were later, when Kerry arrived with his keen observational  humour on almost everything   that was going on. So it was a different world. Kerry, have you ever known Jim  to be tongue tied in commentary? Um, no I haven’t.

I mean the thing about Jim is that  his grammar is absolutely faultless. And I have never seen him lost  for the right phrase to use. The best part of my day was  the crosses from the studio. They’d often be very promotional of the fact that

Jim was going to be the first voice you hear. But Jim always paused for about  five seconds before he spoke and you actually thought  that somebody’s going to say: ‘I’m sorry for that break in  transmission and we are working on it’.

Because Jim is the king of the pregnant  pause and it was part of his broadcasting. He didn’t rush in and finish his sentence  for the guy in the studio because, when the moment came, he said: ‘Yes, welcome to the Melbourne Cricket Ground’. He was forever a polished performer, Jim Maxwell.

May I ask you, was there some  event that you regretted not doing or a challenge or an event  ever been very challenging   that you were unfortunately not a part of? Probably, but as I was not doing them,  then I was not missing it so to speak.

I think to be honest, I’ve always valued   in my work those that can do  what I do, but a lot better. And I always think of people who are  good enough to call horse racing. I reckon that’s the most exacting job of all   commentary because unlike  a lot of the other stuff,

You are constantly examined and  adjudicated on your accuracy. You cannot make a mistake as a race broadcaster and you are not paid to make a mistake. You’re supposed to get it all right. So I envy those blokes that can do it.

Now, I am colour-blind, so I was  never given the chance to do it. And thank goodness for that because  I would have had my foot in my mouth. But look, I am sure there are a lot of Test  matches that I’ve missed here and there,   but I don’t like to dwell on it.

You have got to take this sort of optimistic view and take what you get and move along. That’s what I say at the moment. I’m  sure there’s been something, somewhere, along the way that I one of my colleagues  has been doing, and I’ve missed out.

But look, there’s been so much across  the spectrum of Hockey, Olympic Games, I have done rugby league and rugby union  big games and golf tournaments way back. Can I give you the final word on Jim, then Kerry? Day/night cricket was always going  to be a problem for him because as  

He freely admitted, it cut into his cordial time. I thought you were going to  say because he is colour-blind. No, I just think that he gives  Australian cricket broadcasting,   gravitas and has done for fifty years. And so many have come and gone yet he remains because of his great love for his craft,

And the fact that he is the best at it,  means that nobody is going to surpass it. And that’s it, you know, he should  be very proud of his half century of service and his work ethic. We have talked about the off hours, but if there’s a Fifty Over game between Tasmania

And New South Wales at Blacktown, then  Jim is there calling it in October, with the same relish that he  would call an Ashes Test Match at Lord’s and that is his signature. Yeah we couldn’t agree more and as someone Jim, who has followed behind you as well

And in the ABC commentary boxes  with you being the lead commentator. I have always looked up to you and  the enthusiasm is never ending. And I think that’s a great  thing that follows on from   what Kerry always said about  making the bland interesting

And the cricket is always interesting  when you’re behind the microphone. No matter what is going on, on the field of play. So thank you for all of your commentary and we love the fact that  you are with us every week on Stumped and we get to  reminisce and do this also.

Jim, that was great fun. Charu  that was great fun as well. That’s all we’ve got time  for on this week’s Stumped. My thanks to Charu Sharma and Jim  Maxwell and to all of you, our listeners. We will see you soon. Bye.