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Exclusive: Soul Limbo will return as sound of the summer for BBC cricket highlights show

England captain Joe Root tosses the coin alongside Australia captain Tim Paine - GETTY IMAGES
England captain Joe Root tosses the coin alongside Australia captain Tim Paine - GETTY IMAGES

One of sport’s most iconic pieces of music will return to television this summer after the BBC confirmed Soul Limbo as the theme tune for its cricket coverage.

Telegraph Sport can reveal that the corporation will bring back the signature sound for its highlights show, which begins on July 8 at 7pm, from England’s first Test against the West Indies.

The 1968 song by Booker T. & The MG’s - which is to cricket what the Match of the Day theme tune is to football - was lost to TV screens when the BBC stopped showing live cricket towards the end of the last millennium.

It was given another lease of life in the world of radio after being adopted as the theme tune to Test Match Special in 2000, since when it has made only fleeting television appearances.

Confirming its TV return, a BBC spokesperson said: “The Soul Limbo theme tune will return to TV screens for the BBC’s cricket output, bringing with it the signature sound that has become so iconic throughout our cricket coverage over the years.”

Soul Limbo will provide a familiar feel to what will otherwise be a very unfamiliar style of coverage of cricket, which will be played behind closed doors this summer as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

That could include new innovations from both the BBC and Sky Sports, who hold the live rights to England’s matches.

Telegraph Sport can reveal both broadcasters are scheduled to meet the England & Wales Cricket Board next week to put forward proposals to mitigate against the lack of crowd at matches.

Those are likely to include plans for some form of in-game interviews with players and other participants.

Shorter formats of the game have previously seen players wear microphones and earpieces in order to speak to commentators between deliveries.

Sky has also experimented with having one of its pundits roam the field speaking to participants, although social distancing could make resurrecting that idea more difficult.