Background
Bannister was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.
Bannister was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.
He was, for many years, a British Broadcasting Corporation television cricket commentator and later the Talksport radio cricket correspondent. He played professionally on the county scene for Warwickshire as a fast-medium bowler, taking 1198 first-class wickets in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1969. Against the Combined Services cricket team for Warwickshire at the Mitchells and Butlers ground in Birmingham, Bannister took all 10 Services wickets in an innings for 41 runs.
These remain the best bowling figures in an innings for Warwickshire.
Following his cricket career, Bannister worked as a bookmaker in Wolverhampton. During this time, he was instrumental in setting up the Professional Cricketer"s Pension Scheme.
Media career
He was a familiar voice on British Broadcasting Corporation television"s cricket coverage from 1984 through to 1994 firstly as a summariser then moving on to commentating in 1988. In later life, he provided commentary on and summaries of England international cricket matches on talkSPORT sports radio station from his home, while he watched the game on television
David Gower joined the team in 1994 and eventually replaced Bannister the following summer, but Bannister continued to commentate on Natwest Trophy and Sunday League games until 1999, and had a full role at the British Broadcasting Corporation"s coverage of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. During the 1995 South Africa vs England test match series in South Africa, he promised he would eat a newspaper if South Africa won. He eventually did, when South Africa won.
