KATE MASON has hit back at the “lack of a Roy Keane” in TNT Sports’ cricket coverage.

The glamorous 36-year-old has been in the hotseat for the channel to provide all of the action from England’s series in India.

The ex-Sky Sports News presenter was named as anchor for TNT Sports’ coverage and has been joined in the studio by former England internationals Sir Alastair Cook and Steven Finn.

However, a recent article in The Telegraph claimed that the trio “have a shared shortcoming” and “the problem” with them is that they are “too nice”.

Columnist Alan Tyers then went on to state that “simply won’t do at all, not when there’s an England shambles to seethe at”.

It went on to state that “certain situations call for a certain approach” and that “football has Roy Keane, rugby has Brian Moore” as it encouraged the three to “put the boot in” more.

Irishman Keane, who achieved legendary status as a player for Manchester United, is now famed for his no nonsense views as a footy pundit.

The article then claimed that “fans of the England cricket team like it when they win, but they like it even better when they lose, and what they really, really like is when someone authoritative and charismatic calls them nasty names for their failures”.

The article was published ten days ago and it has not gone unnoticed by Kate, who waited until last night to respond.

She shared a screengrab of the article and its headline “TNT Sports needs a Bob Willis or Roy Keane to give its cricket coverage some bite” on X.

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It then had a sub-section that said: “Broadcaster’s affable team all seem kind, decent and fair-minded people – and that is the problem.”

And that was accompanied with a caption that said: “I’m not I’m a total p***k actually.”

Fans of her quickly replied to the post with encouragement, with one writing: “Kate, Cook and Finn bounce off each other very well, they make great points and dissect the game very well. Why does every show need a Keane character nowadays?”

Another said: “Actually enjoyed that the coverage isn’t reactionary with people losing their minds.”

While a third added: “I’m not just saying this but was actually remarking to a friend this week how refreshing it is to have a lovely mixed panel of knowledgeable likeable people on a sports broadcast, none of whom are chasing clicks or brainless viral moments, and just concentrating on the sport.”

Kate has previously worked for BBC Radio, ITN, talkSPORT and beIN Sports before joining The Football Ramble as a regular host in 2020 alongside Jules Breach, Andy Brassell and Vithushan Ehantharajah. 

Kate also worked on Eurosport’s coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series and has been a regular commentator on BBC Final Score.