“Present Indefinite vs Past Simple Tense in cricket “

Question

Vaibhav Arora to Moeen Ali, lands on a length, around off and it comes into the left-hander. Ali leaves it alone.

Kagiso Rabada to Ambiti Rayudu, FURE! Sheer timing this time! Back of a length, around off, Ambiti Rayudu gets right on the top of the ball and creams it past point for a boundary.

Why does the commentator always comment in the Present Indefinite whereas the actions happened in the past? Are the Present Simple and the Past Simple tenses the same in ongoing cricket match, or some other reasons that he comments in the Present Simple?

Answer 1

This isn't specific to cricket, but something that happens in many sporting matches and even in other kinds of storytelling. If the commentator is talking about a match that they're watching right now, then the events are not really "in the past" - the commentator is describing events as he witnesses them. If a commentator said, "Smith pitched the ball and it was a high fastball to the outside. Jones swung and it was a high fly ball to right field", it would sound as though the commentator was describing something that happened well in the past, not right now.