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Around 130 hours of TV coverage coming up, but how good is it?

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David Croft has done his fair share of hours as a BBC commentator having covered the darts over the last few years, but what does he make of the likes of Clive Everton and Dennis Taylor?

I don't remember many of the thousands of sports bulletins I've read at BBC Radio 5-live over the years but there are a few that stand out above the rest. They include the time I handed over to the respected snooker journalist and commentator Phil Yates for an update on the afternoon's play at the Crucible for which he started his piece with the immortal line "Snooker is a fickle mistress." To this day I still have no idea why snooker is so fickle, nor why it should be a mistress, nor have I any idea what Phil was on about, but I loved the phrase and I still chuckle about it now.

For the next 16 days the crucible commentators will keep us going with something like 130 hours of coverage, so expect a few more classic one-liners from one of the best commentary teams on TV today. As a BBC commentator myself I may be a bit biased here but I do have to take my hat off to the snooker lads and TWI who produce all the output. TWI produce the Darts on BBC as well so I know from personal experience what a great team they are but, but unlike the darts, snooker does lack the noisy atmosphere and fast pace of the Lakeside action, and yet still they keep me on the edge of the sofa for the duration of the championships.

It used to be the case that the only time I got to the edge of the sofa was when I'd fallen asleep watching Eddie Charlton and Rex Williams with their pedestrian, almost static pace move painfully slowly toward a 3am finish. Now thankfully the pace has picked up a bit and those mega late finishes are a thing of the past.

Which means the commentators don't have to spend as much time in the box, although I do remember Clive Everton putting in some extra hours last year. The legend, who celebrated 500 days of snooker commentary at the Crucible in 2007, was scheduled to start work at 10.00am but believing it was half past eleven rushed down to the venue in a state of panic. It was only when he phoned up his friend Phil Yates to ask why the doors were locked that he found out it was a quarter past seven! A man who has spent so much of his life staring at the green baize has no need for time.

From memory however Clive was in need of a helping hand or two when he fell off his chair whilst commentating a few seasons ago with Dennis Taylor reducing the pair to a fit of giggles. And you thought I was lying when I said that snooker has you on the edge of your seat!

His on and off air gaffes aside though, Clive remains one of the best in the business and his presence as a journalist and commentator in the box alongside so many former pros gives the BBC's team a balance that we snooker fans benefit from.

So in between F1 commitments I'm preparing to settle down with my thumb poised and ready over my red interactive button for the long haul on the road to the title. Who will win? Dammed if I know. Snooker, that fickle mistress, can be so hard to predict sometimes but I do know this; If Ronnie O Sullivan is on his 'A' game then he won't be stopped and the [4.4] with Betfair for him to be champion will look a generous price.

But if he's off colour then it could be a wide-open championship for me and Stephen Maguire, a man who seems to be potting himself into contention at just the right time, could be the one to follow. On-Fire Maguire is priced at [8.0] with Betfair to be the man Clive and his team call Champion on May 5th.