You may have heard of (or even heard at the time!) the so-called synthetic radio broadcasts of Test matches in the 1930s, when commentators in Sydney – namely Alan McGilvray – broadcast Ashes Test matches in England via printed telex messages from the other side of the world, plus sound effects. (And we think Twitter and podcasts are something new.)

What I didn’t realise until watching the new SBS documentary series Australia In Colour was that the radio studio had its very own scoreboard! Of course. Makes perfect sense.

You can watch the program on SBS On Demand and find these treasures from 10 minutes 50 seconds.

You can read about the ingenious technology.

You can also watch, in authentic black and white, this very short YouTube clip which has, at the seven-second mark, a glimpse of The Reg Marshall Magnetic Cricket Scoreboard, used in England to keep English cricket fans up to date with games in Australia. Look out for  the phrase ‘Cricketers Bowl One Over In The King’s Head.’