I'm tired. I really should go to bed. One more over. Just one more. It's three am. No it's not, it's 2.49am. Can't be going to bed on an uneven number. I'll go to bed at three, definitely.

Oh, there's a wicket. Right, I'll see out the next couple of overs.

Five hours sleep is enough, isn't it? Who am I arguing with?

There's only one person here.

Ah, the wonders of late night sport.

And they don't come much more late night than The Ashes in Australia. For the past couple of weeks the action has started after midnight and gone straight through until breakfast time.

For those prone to debating with themselves about whether to go to bed or not, it's a dangerous time.

Last year's Ashes was the sporting event of the year. This column was no expert on comical fielding positions and ball tampering at the time, although my interest had been piqued by the superb cricket coverage of Channel 4 in the year leading up to it. Public declarations of this fact led to social ostracism and sustained persecution. Demands were made that I hand over my GAA replica jersey. Occasionally I was forced to hide out in the leafier parts of Clontarf.

But last year's series brought some strange days. While an entire generation was being converted to the game across the water, the sight of people watching cricket in this country became ever more common. On one memorable Saturday evening the entire Croke Park press box was glued to Channel 4 before an All Ireland quarter-final, keeping up with events from Trent Bridge. By the time the series was over, thousands had discovered a new sport to enjoy, while those who knew about the game were running around telling everyone to calm down, this just happened to be the best test series ever; don't expect it to be like this all the time. Too late. As far as On the Air was concerned, there was a whole new way to while away any number of hours.

This column is a sucker for late night sport. If they started scheduling Eircom League matches at 3am, I'd be an expert within weeks. Daytime sport is fine and healthy and all that, but it's followed by an entire evening of reality.

The escapist element of sport . . . the number one reason we watch it . . . can only be heightened by losing consciousness immediately afterwards.

The Ryder Cup is far more enjoyable when it's in the States and finishing around midnight. The 1994 World Cup is fondly remembered for having the best kick-off times. Events, already eagerly anticipated, become even more pleasurable when waited up for.

With the eight-hour shift that cricket provides, there is the choice of setting the alarm for an early morning start and watching the last few overs with your porridge. But that leaves hours of real life (an entire day! Possibly a weekday! ) to be negotiated afterwards. Far better to set a time at which to go to bed and then overshoot it by a couple of hours. Consequences are tomorrow's work.

Sky are providing the pictures for this year's series. They do have a couple of excellent commentators, and the editing and replays are fine, but it lacks the class of Channel 4's coverage. The alternative is to flick to BBC Radio Five Live's Test Match Special. It's often been stated, particularly in this column by the previous incumbent, that cricket is best watched on the radio. So I started flicking over via digital TV when Sky went to ads. Then for the odd ball. Then alternative overs. And finally for everything, only flicking back to the pictures to see replays of a wicket.

Because, for all the praise heaped upon the sport in this column, cricket can be dull for long periods.

While Sky's pundits can start to grate when filling time, the voices on TMS are eminently and consistently listenable.

It's all terribly English of course, but it's an eccentric, charming Englishness.

Stephen Fry's a devotee for a reason.

Everything is observed in a wonderfully eloquent and vivid manner, from the balls bowled to the seagulls perching on the edge of the press box. One of the most entertaining parts of the coverage is hearing the commentators listing off the myriad ways one can now enjoy one's cricket. Listing the likes of TV highlights, digital access, mobile phone highlights and podcasts, it sounds like your dad marvelling at a list of features in Dixons, not having a notion what any of them mean. Unfailingly polite, they always agree that being able to, say, listen to highlights on your Ipod is "rather good".

Apart from the quality of the coverage, there is another reason for tuning into Radio Five rather than Sky. Waking up in front of a bright and blaring TV as light starts creeping between the curtains is never a good thing. There's just something far more civilised about drifting off with the radio for company.