There is No Hope for British Basketball

Last Sunday, Yeading v Newcastle in the third round; this Sunday, Brighton Bears v Scottish Rocks in the final. However, whereas the BBC cleared the schedules to screen the former and were rewarded with an audience approaching five million, they have given a pass to the latter. Not just blanked it, but comprehensively snubbed it by preferring to go with women's bowls and the Dakar rally. It is one thing to be ignored, quite another to discover who has taken what might have been your place.

One of the the highlights of the basketball year is deemed less worthy of coverage than women playing with woods at Hopton-on-Sea. Today's final is considered of less interest than unknown men driving Mitsubishi Pajeros down a beach in Senegal. It is rare that you can confidently predict things can't get worse but this may well be the exception that proves the rule.

Uncharitably, perhaps, and grim as this afternoon's Grandstand promises to be, you cannot fault the BBC's scheduling. Basketball in this country, for a range of reasons, is irredeemably a sport too far.

First, it is played indoors. However inclement the weather the British have never shown a fondness for watching sport in enclosed spaces. They go to see a game for the same reason as they go for a walk: it provides a watertight excuse for loafing around indoors for the rest of the day. The fresh-air quotient has been achieved, put another log on the fire.

Second, and this distinguishes it from bowls, the basketball in this country is distinctly second-rate. All the PR in the world cannot cover up the fact that the Rocks are inferior to the Los Angeles Lakers. British basketball is a cast-off sport, the equivalent of shopping at, as the Americans put it, an experienced clothing store.

Third, the sport has neither a tradition nor an expectation of permanence. There is nothing to fall back on and neither is there much hope for the future. Going to a game of basketball smacks of desperation. Catch it quick, it might not be here for long.

All of which must be exasperating for those people charged with trying to sell indoor sports (basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, squash, badminton, table tennis, and, Grandstand appearance notwithstanding, bowls).

Whenever you go to write on these sports it is hard not to feel like an MP, on an unavoidable visit to his constituency, dropping in on one of the locals to discuss an intractable problem. Initially, the sport/voter is almost cringingly grateful that you have decided to spend some of your supposedly precious time in discussing their minor concerns and nothing is too much effort. However, as the hours pass, this deference turns, if not to contempt, then to a certain impatience as it inevitably becomes apparent that you neither know much about their sport nor, damningly, seem to care as much as you should. By the time you leave you are not the only one wondering why you came.

Tough as it may be for basketball, bowls and rallying, this afternoon the only sport to be watched or listened to - if you can bear Jack Bannister's gratingly enthusiastic sponsors' name-checks - is the fourth day of the fourth Test. An England series victory this month would enable them to rightfully lay claim to being the second best side in the world and set up this summer's Ashes series as a heavyweight title decider.

The last time this was incontestably the case was 1961 (South Africa twice defeated the Australia in 1966-67 and 1969-70 and then West Indies came along). In that series an England team that included Cowdrey, May, Dexter and Barrington among its batsmen and Statham, Lock and Truman (who took five wickets for no runs in 24 balls in the Third Test) was beaten 2-1 by Australia. The crucial Test being the fourth at Old Trafford where Australia, having won the toss, made only 190 (Statham five for 53). In reply England scored 367 (May 95, Barrington 78). In their second innings Australia were 334 for 9 (a lead of 157) and then Davidson and McKenzie put on 98. Chasing 256 for victory, England were 150 for one before captain Richie Benaud produced a spell of five for 12 in 25 balls. Oh, for it to be as close and captivating this summer.

In competition with such glorious sport, basketball and others like it are irrelevant.