00:00 Oh, it's cut nicely.
00:05 And there's a missed field.
00:07 One can hear the Barbadian accent whenever she's doing cricket commentary.
00:11 She's even referred to as the Australian Bajan by those who know her,
00:15 since her mother is from Down Under.
00:17 She's none other than the ebullient sports journalist Alex Jordan,
00:21 who in her younger days represented Barbados in swimming, golf and squash.
00:26 And how did she get into media?
00:28 I'm old enough that when I went to secondary school, I was asked to play cricket
00:32 and they told me rounder is for girls.
00:34 So you all missed out on my talent.
00:36 So I went about my life and I became a sort of radio announcer.
00:39 I had a radio show on the BBC in London.
00:41 I had my own morning show, the Alex Jordan morning show in Barbados.
00:45 And I got a call out of the blue one day from Sportsmax
00:48 after they lost Alexis Nunez to ESPN.
00:51 They said, "Can you come and do this live sports show?"
00:54 And I said, "You guys know I don't do TV, nor do I do sports, right?
00:57 I do radio and I do music."
00:59 And they said, "No, but you could do TV and you could do sports."
01:03 After her involvement with the popular daily show, the Sportsmax Zone,
01:07 opportunities followed such as the CPL and other international tournaments.
01:12 Despite being in the media, Jordan did not pursue journalism,
01:16 but instead something different.
01:18 I think I'm a great example for people that education is about learning to learn
01:23 because I did a third world politics degree with languages.
01:26 I speak five languages.
01:28 Name them.
01:30 French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and English.
01:32 All the European languages, well, Latin languages I should say.
01:36 But I never studied journalism, not a day,
01:39 but I always had a very deep voice from the time I was a little girl.
01:42 So when I was 17, I got a radio show in my summer holidays in Barbados.
01:47 So I always thought radio and stuff was going to be on the cards.
01:51 And then I had a great grasp of language.
01:54 You see, language is the thing, and that has been my angle in.
01:58 It's not been my cricket knowledge. I've had to learn cricket.
02:01 And what are some of the moments that you have enjoyed as a cricket commentator,
02:05 cricket journalist?
02:07 What have you enjoyed in terms of places that you'd have been to,
02:10 things that you'd have seen, etc.?
02:13 Wow. I don't--how much time have you got?
02:16 Cricket has taken me to the world.
02:18 So it's the first time I saw the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi.
02:21 It took me to New Zealand. It took me to Australia.
02:23 I've been around the world to watch this beautiful game, and I've been so lucky.
02:27 But I'd have to say some of the most enjoyable moments have been right here at the CPL
02:32 because the spirit of the Caribbean people, the energy, the music.
02:36 Well, that's my thing. That's me going and coming.
02:39 While Jordan is often seen interacting with fans during matches,
02:43 she says the older she gets, she prefers being inside the commentary box
02:47 to describe the action on the field of play.
02:50 Speaking of commentary, there are some revered analysts that Jordan looks up to
02:55 that cover the gentleman's game.
02:57 Ian Bishop, you can't really go too far without saying his name.
03:00 He's such a gentleman. He's super supportive.
03:03 I just recently did the GT20 in Canada where I worked with Mike Hazeman,
03:07 who was very early days--he was even before CPL--he did the Stanford stuff.
03:12 So he's a veteran in the business and was very kind to me,
03:14 and I think he's a brilliant presenter.
03:17 There are two roles really in cricket. There's a lead, which is what I would do,
03:21 and then there's color, who is the expert. So he's another lead who I look up to.
03:24 Mel Jones--I can't not speak about Mel Jones because I think she's one of the best in the world,
03:29 one of the best voices.
03:31 The way she modulates her voice, the way she tells the story, I think she's incredibly brilliant.
03:36 But I hope I haven't left anyone out. I love you all.
03:39 People often ask Jordan, "What's it like being a woman in a man's world?"
03:44 And she replies wittily, saying, "The same way it feels to be a woman in a man's world outside of sport."
03:50 Vinod Nawan, ATV Sector Sport.
Comments