Unbiased and controlled reporting is always important in sport, but we have to allow ourselves exceptions

It was a once-in-a-generation final and a once-in-a-lifetime way to win. England’s zero-run victory against New Zealand to win the Cricket World Cup was as thrilling as they come. The stunning final clashed with the British Grand Prix, Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, and the Tour de France, making it a busy day for the television remote – and sports desks.

Covering these simultaneous events required a sense of control and calmness, especially in the half-hour period when Djokovic finally won Wimbledon after a gruelling five hours and England eventually won their first men’s Cricket World Cup by virtue of scoring more boundaries following that tied super over.

The question of neutrality, unbiased and controlled reporting is always important in sport, but as Jofra Archer’s delivery was collected by Jason Roy in the off-side and hurled back to Jos Buttler to whip the bails off the stumps, there was no room to think about staying calm.

The nature of the win meant the only celebration that someone emotionally invested in the match all day could produce was an explosion of joy. In the office we were no exception, leaping up from our seats and banging on the desks.

It reminded me a lot of the 2018 Fifa World Cup when England beat Colombia on penalties in the round of 16. The desk was packed at 10pm, all of us preferring to be watching this anywhere else but at work, but it didn’t seem to matter as Eric Dier slotted in the winning penalty. “One minute of celebrating” had been agreed at the start of the shootout; after that, it was one deep breath and then back to slamming the keyboard to feed the coverage-hungry internet.

Sunday was similar. One minute of joy, then straight back to work.

I was lucky enough to report on England’s demolition job against Australia at Edgbaston on Thursday in the semi-final, and the same thing happened there. Fist bumps and cheers with every wicket followed by smiles all around the press box before the one-minute allowance expired and then it was straight back to work. That’s just the way the job is.

Yours,

Jack Watson

Sports reporter