John Etheridge is The Sun’s cricket correspondent and has been involved with the sport for over 40 years. Here John reflects on England winning the women’s World  Cup, his favourite cricketing interviewee, the challenges the game faces in the future and his all time England team.

How did you start your career in journalism? 

During the school holidays, I used to score Test matches off the TV so one day I wrote to a chap called Bill Frindall asking if I could help him. He was the scorer and statistician on Test Match Special on the radio and, amazingly, he agreed. The first time I went to his house was the day Elvis Presley died in the summer of 1977.

I also went with Bill to the Oval Test against Australia that summer, hanging around the TMS box and, with some sort of prescience, ‘phoning the detailed scores through to The Sun sports desk every time a wicket fell. Anyway, Bill put me in touch with an old Fleet Street character called Reg Hayter, who ran a famous sports reporting agency. I went for an interview, got a job as post boy/dogsbody/trainee and it went from there.

With the England women’s team winning the cricket World Cup, how has the women’s game changed during your time as a pundit?

It has changed beyond recognition. I covered the 1993 World Cup final when England beat New Zealand at Lord’s in front of a few thousand spectators. The players wore skirts and, at that time, women were not even allowed in the pavilion. Michael Holding tells a story that, during a 30-minute commentary slot on a women’s match a few years ago, not a single run was scored.

The standard has improved dramatically, especially in the last two or three years. The players are fitter, stronger and more athletic. But further progress is required if it is to be as appealing a TV sport as tennis, track and field or hockey. There is little depth in quality, either.

But, with top players earning around £75,000-a-year, cricket is now a viable career choice. More girls will be attracted to the sport and the standard should continue to rise sharply.

What challenges and opportunities do you think the game faces in the coming years?

Grounds are full for Test matches in England but not in other countries. Test cricket is the best and purest form of the game but staying relevant and commanding interest is a problem. The ECB will bring in a Twenty20 tournament in 2020 with eight new, region-based teams. It is our version of Australia’s Big Bash and the Indian Premier League. It is a big risk – will spectators follow new, made-up teams and could it signal the death of county cricket? – but a risk worth taking.

Who is your favourite cricketer to interview/ your best ever interview (and why)?

Kevin Pietersen is a divisive figure and regarded as a toxic figure around many of the dressing-rooms he has frequented. But he was always good copy. His arrogance and lack of self-awareness meant he would say things others wouldn’t even think. Sometimes, they could be inflammatory, other times gauche or crass. But he always filled our notebooks. Others I’ve enjoyed chatting to include Ricky Ponting (totally honest) and Graeme Swann (amusing).

I’ve been fortunate enough to interview them all, really, from Garry Sobers to Shane Warne to Sachin Tendulkar to Joe Root. I was the last person to interview Len Hutton, shortly before he died in 1990.

What is your best all time England X1?

I’ll stick with players I’ve reported on….Graham Gooch, Alastair Cook, David Gower (capt), Kevin Pietersen, Graham Thorpe, Ian Botham, Alec Stewart (wkt), Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Darren Gough, James Anderson.

Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan were the best England captains I’ve reported on but they don’t quite make the team. So Gower, in his laid-back style, would have to take charge.

What are your five desk essentials?

The press box basics, really – seat, internet access, power, decent view and a TV for replays. I work from home a lot and the local residents keep refusing permission for a mobile phone mast. So I have virtually no signal. Fortunately, a gizmo called a Vodafone Sure Signal boosts my signal to the maximum – so that’s pretty essential!