Alan Wilkins is one of the most recognisable voices in sports broadcasting across the world.
A broadcasting career that has spanned three decades following a career as a Professional Cricketer with Glamorgan CCC and Gloucestershire CCC in England, Alan’s broadcasting began in South Africa where his association with the microphone took over from his grip on the cricket ball due to a shoulder injury that ended his cricketing career. The early informative days in Johannesburg provided the platform for his return to Britain, where he became the most recognized face and voice on BBC Wales Television, hosting and commentating on the BBC’s coverage of the Five Nations Rugby Championship (later the Six Nations), Wales’s Football World Cup and European Championship Qualifying campaigns, Glamorgan County Cricket and domestic Cricket and Rugby for BBC Network (London).
In 1999, Alan had the distinction of covering the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in June, and in October, the IRB Rugby World Cup for ITV, after which he was invited to move to Asia.
In February 2000, Alan moved to Singapore to take up a position with ESPN Star Sports, the pan-Asia broadcaster, establishing himself in a new television market, especially in India, where he has been a household name in Cricket since 1996, when he commentated on his first international Cricket tour by India, to England. Now with Star Sports India, Cricket in India is part of his life, covering the ICC Cricket World Cup, India’s international Cricket at home for Star Sports and the BCCI, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the past three years. Alan has been an integral part of the World Commentary teams at all the major ICC events including the ICC Cricket World Cup, the ICC Champions Trophy, the ICC World Twenty20, the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup.
In thirteen years with ESPN Star Sports, among the many sports he has covered, Golf has been high on his agenda, including the Masters LIVE from Augusta, The Open Championship and the 2013 World Cup of Golf at Royal Melbourne for the US PGA Tour. With Indian Tennis Legend, Vijay Amritraj, Alan has also been the face and voice of Tennis at Wimbledon since 1993, the Australian Open and the US Open at Flushing Meadows, New York. He also continued his association with Rugby, including the IRB Rugby World Cup, the Six Nations Championship, the ANZAR Super 14 Rugby and the IRB World Sevens Series in Singapore. He also presented the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. There’s more! He also presented Formula One Grand Prix, the World Moto GP and the World Superbikes, and in the early days with the BBC, there was the World Squash Series and the British Open.
Alan has worked for BBC, ITV, Eurosport, SABC and SuperSport (South Africa), ESPN Star Sports, Fox Sports and most recently, Star Sports India.
Originally from Cardiff, Wales, Alan has a B:Ed (2:1 Hons) Degree in Sports Science (Psychology) and History from Loughborough University, England. He played First-Class Cricket and Rugby and was the inaugural Golf Captain of The Celtic Manor (Wales) Resort, venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup. His golf swing continues to be a source of frustration, underlining the adage that maybe talking about sport is better than playing it. Maybe!