10 Greatest Cricket Commentators (One day and Test match)

[robin2855]

10 Greatest Cricket Commentators (One day and Test match)

The Commentators play a vital role in a Live Cricket match be it Test or One Day.

Their Voice Quality, Mode, Pace, Cricket insights, biasedness, Sense of humor in their presentation has a great impact on listeners. It can generate Enthusiasm, Excitement Or Disappointment, Anger, Frustration, Boredom.

So it is important that the TV Channels have the Right Fit.

Typically A commentator will instinctively have a bias towards his home team.

But he should not cross the line in which case his credibility is lost.

There has been quite a number of High quality Cricket Commentators the world has seen. But amongst those are some names that stand out for their quality commentary.

I have decided this discussion be based on the following criteria:

1. Good Quality Voice
2. Sound Cricketing knowledge .
3. Have a good sense of humor.
4. Does not sound boring.
5. And Last but not the least Unbiased in their opinion.

Exclusions: We are only considering selection based on commentaries strictly on Test and One day. So please do not judge them based on their performances in T20/ ICL/IPL.

I have selected my choice of 10 Greatest Cricket Commentators (Both One day and Test) on the basis of above criteria.

My 6th.7th, 9th and 10 have multiple choices as I found it difficult to leave anyone out and there was not much difference that separated one from the other .

Here You go:

1. Richie Benaud
2. Henry Blofeld,Harsha Bhogle upgraded
3. Ian Chappel,Wasim Akram upgarded
4. Naseer Hussain
5. Ravi Shastri
6. Mark Nicholas,
7. Barry Richards,
8. Tony Cozier,Tony Greig
9. David lloyd, Ramiz Raja,
10. Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Bishop

Now It’s Reader’s turn.

Let’s see whats’ your selection.

Good Luck and Cheers!

 

[King Cricket]

^ I will post my list later. But Robin, I find some flaws in your list.

1. You are over-rating Ravi Shastri. He doesn't deserve the 5th spot.
2. You are under-rating Bhogle.
3. Sanjay and Bishop are better than Raja.
4. Why isn't there any Sunil Gavaskar? You include Raja and others in your top ten, but Sunil >>> Raja. So....?

That's all.

 

[robin2855]

Welcome King Cricket!

^ I will post my list later. But Robin, I find some flaws in your list.

1. You are over-rating Ravi Shastri. He doesn't deserve the 5th spot.
2. You are under-rating Bhogle.
3. Sanjay and Bishop are better than Raja.
4. Why isn't there any Sunil Gavaskar? You include Raja and others in your top ten, but Sunil >>> Raja. So....?

That's all.

My take on your observation.

I do extensive reseach before I post stuff like this.

This is based on my over 100 plus Cricket DVD'S and tons of Live Crcket I watched over the years.

I also extensively Researched over Internet to check what others have assessed. At least 10 different sources. This is to see how my assessment compared with them

Then I have set a criteria for selection

Having siad that I will now answer your observations

1. Ravi shastri

Actualy I have underrated Ravi at 5.

In a poll conducted by Cricinfo Ravi in the Unbiased category is at 3.

Most sources placed him within the top 3.

But per my close observation I consider him at 5.

2.Harsha

Harsha is awesome so far as cricket Knowledge is concened.

The big problem is the express pace at which he talks.

In a role of commnentator one has to be at least medium pace for others to follow.

There is something called Mirroring with your Listeners which means adjust your speech speed in conjuction with the comprehensibilty of your listeners without which you cannot have the desired impact. If you talk fast it is difficult to follow.

If you want I can give you a link to confirm what I am talkng about.

In my Criteria one of the prerequisties of a good commenator is pace.

He certainly lacks that. Hence I rate him according to what I thought so.

3. Raja is under heavy criticizm now by virtue of his role in IPL whcih may or may not be true as I have not watched IPL as I do not believe in DISHAM DUSHAM or BOOM BOOM type of cricket. So don't judge him by that.

Like Harsha I have closely watched and listened to him over 10 + years.

Raja is one of the few well educated cricketers from Pakistan.

He has an MBA.

If you have watched him closely he is probably one of the very few chosen not only to commentate but also conduct the Man of The match ceremony zillion times all over the world.

You only assign that role to people who are good speakers and have sound Cricket Knowledge. He has done this job tremendously well because he is very capable at that.

Ravi,Manjrekar, Bishop also gets that because they are good at that as well.

In his cricketing career Ramiz was not so successful either as Skipper or Opening batsman(nowhere near his partner Saed Anwar).

But his cricketing knowledge,control over language and all the prerequistes I have mentioned is pretty much fulfilled He is top quality as far as I am concerned. Others don't have to agree as this is my peception.

None of the Other Pakistani commenatators: Wasim, Waqar or Imran can match him in ovearll quality of Ramiz as a versatile, Knowledgeable and smart Commentator.

I have actually underrated him at 9 as he is being considered with the very best.

4. Sunny as a cricketer is on my 5 most favorite list of Cricket Personalities.

His knowledge of Cricket is second to none. Problem is when it comes to Indian team he tends to get biased. Instinctively every commentator does so. But you have to draw a line. That is a big drawback if you are a commentator.

Thus his exclusion from the list.

I suggests to remove your doubts do some research on the Internet and see what others think about the ones you have concerns and judge from what you saw and listened to and also keep in mind the criteria I have set.

So buddy I hope I have answered all your observations.

BTW this selection is my perception and I don't claim mine is best or ideal . I assessed what I thought was best based on my rationale and criteria set.

I am looking forward to yours as well as others.

Cheers!

 

[Howsie]

In a poll conducted by Cricinfo Ravi in the Unbiased category is at 3.

Unbiased, now thats a laugh. Ravi is quite good and I didn't mind him in New Zealand just recently but he isn't in the top five.

 

[McLOVIN]

Danny Morrison :banana2 and Harsha

 

[Leicester Fox]

Bumble is one of the few that make a test interesting. For me Michael Holding is the new voice of cricket since Richie left, his voice is sexy.

 

[King Pietersen]

1. Richie Benaud
2. Tony Cozier
3. Henry Blofeld
4. Mark Nicholas
5. Michael Holding
6. David Lloyd
7. Sunil Gavaskar
8. Tony Greig
9. Jeremy Coney (Legend)
10. Michael Atherton

Not entirely happy with my list, but I'm not overly fussed. The top 2/3 are all I'm worried about tbh. I could listen to Tony Cozier's commentary for hours, such a knowledgable man, respect him immensely.

 

[robin2855]

Welcome Howsie! Where do you like to place him?

Unbiased, now thats a laugh. Ravi is quite good and I didn't mind him in New Zealand just recently but he isn't in the top five.

Welcome Howsie?

Cricinfo poll placed Ravi at 3. I placed him at 5 and will stand by it- I don't have to agree with what common mass has to say. Mine was based on my rationale and criteria If you want to know further follow me:

He has all the attributes of a good commentator Like:

1. Good Quality Voice .
2. Sound Cricketing knowledge
3. Have a good sense of humor
4. Does not sound boring
5. Not biased in his opinion

Plus

Very humble. No arrogance.

Gives credit where it is due whether it is Batsman, Bowler, Fielder, Captain
No less. No more. Whatever he deserves.

No double standards either.

Even when commentating minnows he does not go into reckless verbal slaughter which some of the prominent ones resorts to.

I respect this guy a lot .

A role model.

If you still have reservations on Ravi mate do some researchng on Internet.

You will find majority considers him very high and within the top 5.

How would you like to place him? unleash that (LOL!)

Hope this helps mate.

Cheers!

robin2855 added 9 Minutes and 15 Seconds later...

1. Richie Benaud
2. Tony Cozier
3. Henry Blofeld
4. Mark Nicholas
5. Michael Holding
6. David Lloyd
7. Sunil Gavaskar
8. Tony Greig
9. Jeremy Coney (Legend)
10. Michael Atherton

Not entirely happy with my list, but I'm not overly fussed. The top 2/3 are all I'm worried about tbh. I could listen to Tony Cozier's commentary for hours, such a knowledgable man, respect him immensely.

Welcome mate!

Barring 10 a very good Selection indeed.

I am glad that you included Jeremy Coney. Super voice and has all the attributes of a Good commentator. I missed out on this one.

Thanks for your inputs and cheers!

 

[Howsie]

My Top 10 would be:

1.David Lloyd
2.Michael Holding
3.Tony Cozier
4.Mark Nicholas
5.Tony Greig
6.Pommie Mbangwa(I Love Pommy)
7.Ravi Shastri
8.Ian Smith
9.Sunil Gavaskar
10.Martin Crowe(When he is fired up, talking smack about Sinclair lol)

I don't really know who is the best, but I like most of those guys.

Howsie added 1 Minutes and 9 Seconds later...

Danny Morrison :banana2 and Harsha

Danny Morrison is missing a few screws I think, can't stand the guy to be honest.

 

[SciD]

Bumble - FTW
Slater
Deano
White Lightning
Boycott
Siddhu
Danny Boy
Manjrekar





Best of them all -
Ranjit Fernando
Arun Lal
Lakshman Sivramakrishnan
Athar Ali Khan
Aamir Sohail
Bob Willis

 

[King Cricket]

1. R.Benaud
2. I.Chappell
3. M.Nicholas
4. T.Greig
5. R.Shastri
6. A gun named SMG
7. David Bumble
8. Mad Max Danny
9. G.Boycott
10. Mandira Bedi , LOL, just kidding, Harsha Bhogle


In no particular order that is.

 

[Precambrian]

10 Greatest Cricket Commentators (One day and Test match)

The Commentators play a vital role in a Live Cricket match be it Test or One Day.

Their Voice Quality, Mode, Pace, Cricket insights, biasedness, Sense of humor in their presentation has a great impact on listeners. It can generate Enthusiasm, Excitement Or Disappointment, Anger, Frustration, Boredom.

So it is important that the TV Channels have the Right Fit.

Typically A commentator will instinctively have a bias towards his home team.

But he should not cross the line in which case his credibility is lost.

There has been quite a number of High quality Cricket Commentators the world has seen. But amongst those are some names that stand out for their quality commentary.

I have decided this discussion be based on the following criteria:

1. Good Quality Voice
2. Sound Cricketing knowledge .
3. Have a good sense of humor.
4. Does not sound boring.
5. And Last but not the least Unbiased in their opinion.

Exclusions: We are only considering selection based on commentaries strictly on Test and One day. So please do not judge them based on their performances in T20/ ICL/IPL.

I have selected my choice of 10 Greatest Cricket Commentators (Both One day and Test) on the basis of above criteria.

My 6th.7th, 9th and 10 have multiple choices as I found it difficult to leave anyone out and there was not much difference that separated one from the other .

Here You go:

1. Richie Benaud
2. Henry Blofeld
3. Ian Chappel
4. Naseer Hussain
5. Ravi Shastri
6. Mark Nicholas,Harsha Bhogle
7. Barry Richards,Wasim Akram
8. Tony Cozier,Tony Greig
9. David lloyd, Ramiz Raja,
10. Sanjay Manjrekar, Ian Bishop

Now It’s Reader’s turn.

Let’s see whats’ your selection.

Good Luck and Cheers!

I see 15 there and except for a few in the top 5, I disagree with the rest

From what I have heard, there have been all time greats in the BBC panel like Aggers and Johnners but I hardly have listened to them, thanks to BBC's policy of restricting people from outside UK to listen to them.

1. Richie Benaud
Daylight
2. Ian Chappell
3. Barry Richards
4. Micheal Holding
5. Ravi Shastri (thank god the topic is limited to just tests and ODIs, in T20s esp in IPL, he is dire
6. Tony Grieg
7. Sunil Gavaskar (except when Tendulkar is batting, he starts tongue wanking then)
8. Micheal Atherton
9. Bumble
10. Wasim Akram (post 2004, he has improved leaps and bounds, and is a boon for budding fast bowlers when he is egged on to speak about what he would do in that match situation)

The last 4 or 5 are more or less interchangeable.

 

[Skater]

My quickly put together top 5, in order:

1. Richie Benaud
2. Jonathan 'Aggers' Agnew
3. Michael Atherton
4. Christopher 'CMJ' Martin-Jenkins
5. David 'Bumble' Lloyd

 

[age of the fall]

I have to admit how people seem to be rating Tony Cozier. I thought he was terrible in the NZ/WI series. He was comparing how we can now use technology to help umpires to a sex change :|

 

[robin2855]

Great Selection!

1. R.Benaud
2. I.Chappell
3. M.Nicholas
4. T.Greig
5. R.Shastri
6. A gun named SMG
7. David Bumble
8. Mad Max Danny
9. G.Boycott
10. Mandira Bedi , LOL, just kidding, Harsha Bhogle


In no particular order that is.

Great selection!.Looks solid.

No Sunny. Moral victory for me(LOL!)

As a cricketer Sunny is one of my 5 favorites of all time.

If somebody could point out his shortcomings ie Biasedness it could easily have been solved and he could easily find himself in the top 5 .

Question is who is to bell the cat?

Cheers!