About

Alison Mitchell is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, and one of the pioneering female voices in international sports commentary

A trailblazer in cricket broadcasting, Alison was the first woman to forge a career as a commentator on the BBC’s iconic Test Match Special, becoming a regular member of its ball-by-ball commentary team in 2007. For many years, she was the only woman commentating year-round across ICC Cricket World Cups and international cricket around the world. Her work helped establish and normalise the female voice in a traditionally male-dominated field, paving the way for a generation of women sports commentators. Her impact was recognised in 2026 by being granted the Freedom of the City of London.

Alison is one of the most respected and sought-after commentators in international cricket, with high-profile roles as a lead commentator for the BBC in the UK, as well as Seven Network and ABC in Australia. She occasionally presents sport on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, and she is presenter of the BBC World Service cricket programme, podcast and YouTube show Stumped, which broadcasts across the BBC, ABC and Akashvani in India.

Beyond cricket, her broadcasting career has included tennis Grand Slams, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Open golf, international hockey, netball, and artistic gymnastics. She is also the commentary voice for Best in Show at the world famous dog show Crufts on Channel 4.

Journalism has always been at the heart of Alison’s broadcasting. Storytelling, incisive interviewing, holding those in power to account, and an ability to communicate the drama and nuance of elite competition have been the hallmarks of her work across both television and radio.

In 2026 she won a journalism ‘Oscar’ for her work covering the plight of the Afghanistan Women’s cricket team, as she was presented with the Sport for Change Award by the Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA).

Her standing within the industry was first recognised in 2014 when the SJA named her Sports Broadcaster of the Year. That same year, she became the first woman to commentate on men’s international cricket for ABC Grandstand in Australia.

Further broadcasting firsts followed. In 2017, Alison was a key member of BT Sport’s Ashes coverage, becoming the first woman to commentate on a men’s Ashes series for television. In 2018, she was appointed as a lead commentator on Seven Network’s men’s Test cricket coverage in Australia as part of the network’s new broadcast rights deal. The following year, she was one of three women selected for the first time to commentate on the global host television broadcast of the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Across more than two decades at the highest level of sports broadcasting, Alison has combined journalistic rigour with authoritative live commentary and a distinctive ability to tell the human stories behind sport. Her career has both broken barriers and helped make the presence of women in lead commentary roles a normalised and essential part of modern sports broadcasting.

For a full run down of Alison’s experience please browse linkedIn.