TV coverage & commentators of the world

[LiveLoveABD]

Well, this is a thread made out of frustration. Frankly, I think the Star group used to be excellent and now they're just awful. Their commentators state the obvious and I never hear them actually be edgy. Discussions that get a viewer engrossed. Quite the opposite of Sky which we get a feed to on Star in India where coverage is amazing. Also, the ridiculous shows on Star with the likes of Aakash Chopra, Jatin Sapru, Murali Karthik, Atul Wassan, Sanjay Manjerekar and one or two more pundits is just awful and make me cringe. Lack of DRS, hot spot, snicko and latest technology not taken by the richest board. Really? Our well paid money and they give us such shit coverage.

Here is my list of pundits and commentators I love and also a list of the one's that I can't tolerate.

Favorites / Love listening to?

Australia- Bill Lawry, Matthew Hayden
England- Nasser Hussain, David Lloyd, Mark Nicholas (Hon' mention to Boycott who no longer does it)
India- Harsha Bhogle, Rahul Dravid
South Africa- Robin Jackman
New Zealand- Ian Smith, Danny Morrison, Craig McMillan. (DM is just brilliant)
West Indies- Tony Cozier, Ian Bishop, Michael Holding
SL- Ranjeet Fernando
PAK- Wasim Akram (His english is a bit weak but he makes up for it with his immense knowledge and he isn't biased)

Knowledge but very biased and sometimes annoying?

Australia- Shane Warne, Ian Chappel
England- Bob Willis
India- Sunil Gavaskar
South Africa- Shaun Pollock
New Zealand- Simon Doull

Outright pathetic and unbearable

Australia- Ian Healy, Michael Slater, Dean Jones
England- Michael Atherton
India- Ravi Shastri, L Sivaramakrishnan and NS Sidhu, Sanjay Manjerekar (very oversmart)
South Africa- Kepler Wessels
New Zealand- Simon Doull, sometimes.
West Indies- Geofferey Dujon
Pakistan- Ramiz Raja (more than Sidhu), Shoaib Akhtar
SL- Rusell Arnold
ZIM- Mbangwa and Alistair Campbell
All BANGLADESH commentators led by Atar Ali Khan- They're shocking!

What's your opinion?

I think Sky has the best coverage. Nasser Hussain is my favorite pundit. Bill Lawry my fav commentator. Ramiz Raja the most unbearable of the lot. Ten IS THE WORST coverage.

What's your opinion?

 

[_Sam_]

Absoloutely hate the channels where instead of having an ad break they cram half the screen with an ad just as the bowler runs in...

Think we're extremely lucky over here with sky, particularly the extras pieces they do, both the amount of them and quality of them.

 

[PokerAce]

^ I think with the star commentary its just a case of having become boring. I have been listening to the same lot since I was born, and by now I know (as do you seemingly) what they are likely to say before they say it. However with Dravid and Ganguly as part of their team, and VVS, I can handle the new lot. Especially when Dravid and Ganguly are on together, those segments are fun.

And you are right about Manjeraker - I think he is an absolute fking c*nt. Healy is another I can't stand hearing him, he is as biased and irrational as they come.

Perhaps I would disagree on Rameez Raja, granted he doesn't speak English as well as others, but he uses his limitations well and is no longer biased. I think he is okay to listen to.

Tony Grieg was one I loved at the start, but he became a bit of a c*nt too later on and rather biased. I still remember his commentary from '98 Sharjah desert storm series ... was great to hear.

Danny Morrison I think I can't handle, and Dean Jones is good, but somehow you get the feeling he is really putting on an act when doing commentary. He just seems so excited overselling every shot. Its like a 5 year old who has seen cricket for the first time, somehow I don't buy that.

I remember watching this a few years ago, I think you will enjoy this -

 

[LiveLoveABD]

In India you'll be lucky to watch the full over. If it's a 50 over match, at least in 5 overs, you'll not see the last ball/ the first ball. The analysis is also shit. Ten's coverage which I'm watching right now is just pathetic.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Ramiz Raja's English is good. He's VERY biased and talks rubbish. He calls an outside edge a 'well timed shot.'

Tony Greig @ the desert series was my best ever. RIP great man!

I love Danny! Agree about RSD and Dada!

Venkatesh Prasad is just shit!

 

[PokerAce]

Absoloutely hate the channels where instead of having an ad break they cram half the screen with an ad just as the bowler runs in...

Think we're extremely lucky over here with sky, particularly the extras pieces they do, both the amount of them and quality of them.

I was actually looking at the Sky coverage, and I dont understand the build up segments. They talk about the game for a while and then completely move to another segment, like they will show some interview with a guy for 20 mins, in his home as part of the build up. In Lunch they cut to a masterclass about someone. I don't get it. (Perhaps in England you get the full sky coverage with post-lunch analysis and all and we in India are cut to the masterclass instead). However if its masterclass all around, then I don't get it.

Shouldn't they be talking about the game, instead of a random masterclass show. I can watch the masterclass later, and I would rather have the play summed up for me in the lunch break, show the wickets I may have missed were there dropped catches and so on. Tell me about the play.

I do agree those pop in screen sliding ads can be annoying, but I think in India I have grown used to those by now.

 

[Aalay]

I can't believe you like Matthew Hayden, Danny Morrisson and dislike Simon Doull. I personally love listening to Shane Warne and Ian Chappel because they both have an amazing cricket brain but as you said Warne is very biased even though I do enjoy his Vegas stories. I also like Ian Chappel but he can be a bit annoying and stubborn sometimes. Everyone else in channel 9 currently is just horrible. Just like everyone else, I am a big fan of Sky's commentary team except Ian Botham who is just a douche. I used to like Harsha Bhogle but since last few years, I find him annoying. I also think Aakash Chopra is a very good analyst because he knows what he is talking about.

England: Sky commentary team except Ian Botham
India: Rahul Dravid, Sourav Gangully, Aakash Chopra
Australia: Ian Chappel, Shane Warne
South Africa: Kepler Wessels
Pakistan: Wasim Akram (Very hard on ears but has enough knowledge)
New Zealand: Ian Smith, Simon Doull
West Indies- Tony Cozier, Ian Bishop, Michael Holding

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I was actually looking at the Sky coverage, and I dont understand the build up segments. They talk about the game for a while and then completely move to another segment, like they will show some interview with a guy for 20 mins, in his home as part of the build up. In Lunch they cut to a masterclass about someone. I don't get it. (Perhaps in England you get the full sky coverage with post-lunch analysis and all and we in India are cut to the masterclass instead). However if its masterclass all around, then I don't get it.

Shouldn't they be talking about the game, instead of a random masterclass show. I can watch the masterclass later, and I would rather have the play summed up for me in the lunch break, show the wickets I may have missed were there dropped catches and so on. Tell me about the play.

I do agree those pop in screen sliding ads can be annoying, but I think in India I have grown used to those by now.

I think, we dind Sky abrupt because we don't see the entire build up. I saw the 'pace like fire' they showed on Waz and Waqar and I just LOVED it! I don't know if you saw the Healy masterclass on keeping, the Ponting masterclass on batting they did last Ashes, but it's just amazing. The little piece Warne did on the difference between Lyon AND Ali explaining side and over spin. It's just another league altogether.

I've heard Harsha Bhogle since I was 6. I'm 28 and I can listen all day to him. Rahul Dravid is also just OUTSTANDING. Dada fumbles a little but he's also good. I can't bare to listen to Shastri/Gavaskar. Shastri is certainly into some sort of substance abuse. He doesn't even commentate. He shouts, and he does it in an arrogant way. Not like, Morrison who is fun.

 

[PokerAce]

Warne these days seems to talk more about Poker than cricket. or is it just me.

 

[PokerAce]

I think, we dind Sky abrupt because we don't see the entire build up. I saw the 'pace like fire' they showed on Waz and Waqar and I just LOVED it! I don't know if you saw the Healy masterclass on keeping, the Ponting masterclass on batting they did last Ashes, but it's just amazing. The little piece Warne did on the difference between Lyon AND Ali explaining side and over spin. It's just another league altogether.

No I am not saying that those masterclass segments are not good. They are, but I can watch them later as part of regular programming, why do they have to be part of the build up. I need to hear them talking about the game in the build up.

I did see the Healy Ponting thing they did in the inside nets, it was good, but I didnt watch all of it, as it had Ian Healy in it, and I can't stand that biased c*nt.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Actually, I've met Danny Morrison and had the honor of having a few drinks with him. The man is so humble, friendly and you might not believe me but he's exactly how you see him on tv. In half an hour, the entire bar was watching him and his antics. Also, he told us a few stories about his playing days and commentary stints and he just rambles like that during normal conversations with eyes twitching and the double d's and what not.

He said Chris Harris head looked like the egg in the Mario game!

 

[LiveLoveABD]

No I am not saying that those masterclass segments are not good. They are, but I can watch them later as part of regular programming, why do they have to be part of the build up. I need to hear them talking about the game in the build up.

I did see the Healy Ponting thing they did in the inside nets, it was good, but I didnt watch all of it, as it had Ian Healy in it, and I can't stand that biased c*nt.

I know what you're saying. He didn't let Ponting get one word in. But, the technical stuff was just so so brilliant.[DOUBLEPOST=1438441987][/DOUBLEPOST]

Warne these days seems to talk more about Poker than cricket. or is it just me.

Yeah.

 

[_Sam_]

No I am not saying that those masterclass segments are not good. They are, but I can watch them later as part of regular programming, why do they have to be part of the build up. I need to hear them talking about the game in the build up.

I did see the Healy Ponting thing they did in the inside nets, it was good, but I didnt watch all of it, as it had Ian Healy in it, and I can't stand that biased c*nt.

Usually get an hour of pure solid related buildup before the day on a test and then during lunch 40 mins is a bit too long to discuss what should be a 2 hour session so they'll stick a 15 min masterclass/program (pace like fire or cricketing Yorkshire being the recent ones) in the middle or one of their collection of player biography style pieces they made for the WC.

You also get the third commentator doing constant analysis during play which I guess takes a bit away from what they can cover as much in the interval.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

What I like about Sky, is that the ECB doesn't control it. The BCCI has multiple mandates on what the commentators can and can't say. For example, team selection, captaincy etc. etc.

 

[Markkkkk]

Cant believe you dont like Pommie Mbangwa and he is more of a South African commentator...