Peter West

Peter Anthony West (12 August, 1920 - 2 September, 2003) was a BBC presenter and sports commentator best known for his work on the corporation's cricket and rugby coverage as well as commentating field hockey. He was educated at Cranbrook School in Kent as were his fellow BBC commentators Barry Davies and Brian Moore.

A "Playfair Cricket Annual 2004" obituary said West joined the BBC in 1947 on the recommendation of C B Fry, whom he had met by chance and been able to help. Peter West worked for BBC for nearly 40 years until retiring in 1986.

As well as cricket, he was also involved in the channel's coverage of Rugby Union, Lawn Tennis and the Olympic Games. Outside sport, he presented many BBC programmes including the original version of "Come Dancing".

West was also involved in the publication of the "Playfair Cricket Annual" from its inception in 1948. The idea for the title came from the name of Sir Nigel Playfair, an actor/manager between the wars. C B Fry was asked to approve the title and he responded that "Playfair was a very proper title for a book about the noble game".

Besides working for the BBC, West was also a cricket and rugby correspondent for both The Times and The Daily Telegraph. "'Peter died at his home in Bath on (2 September,2003) after being ill.