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Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts
When Star Sports reduced Dhoni to a hashtag
First, it was in the build-up – the match was being hyped-up as the last match that MS Dhoni was captain – come again, captain of what, Team India? This was not the Indian team, this was India A. And this was not an international match, this was an inconsequential practice match. The type of matches where batsmen retire out (euphemism for declare their innings, so someone else can have a go).
Which is what happened when Ambati Rayudu declared his innings at 100 in the 41st over so those that had come to see Dhoni could see Dhoni.
All this is great, and there is a strong sense that we might be seeing the last of Dhoni, not just skippering the team in blue, but for the last time in blue on Indian soil – at least for a long, long time. Who knows if there will be a next time after this series.
You can sense some of Star Sports’ keenness in milking MSD’s captaincy for all its worth. But to do so all in one game, with their panel of commentators rambling from start-to-finish about all their incoherent, same-old, yes, those very, heard it a thousand time before memories, was an assault on the ears.
It was as if the broadcasters’ brief to the commentators was: “Remember how you used to shamelessly plug sponsors in the IPL, replace the sponsors with MSD – yeah, just like you would go right over the top with the Yes Bank Maximums, you go at it about Dhoni…build MS Dhoni up like you would build the Martui Vitara Brezza last season… make it sound like the greatest thing ever, think you can do that? Good. And don’t shy away from repetition, that you never have LS, why would you now?”
By doing all this, the commentators and the broadcasters have done MSD a huge disservice. The crowds had packed in, they’d made it to a practice match that few, if any, turn up for. The action, Dhoni’s presence, when he walked out to bat, all spoke for itself.
All eyes were on Dhoni. It brought back memories, more of his mannerisms, more of how, each one of us remember him, each in our own unique way. Not tutored by Star Sports’ propaganda mouthpieces to tell us about 2007, 2011, Champions Trophy, Joginder Sharma, Kenya, again and again, and again.
We were there too. By rambling on and on about MSD, from the start of the match, they compelled us to switch off – to disconnect with not just the match but with MSD, and what could have been something special in its own way, even if was just a practice match.
But they did not relent. They rambled. If there were pauses, it was only when Saqlain Mushtaq or Ashish Nehra were interviewed. While Saqlain spoke of his respect for MSD, rating him amongst his top three captains, after Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, he also talked about how it seemed like it was an India-Pakistan match because of the atmosphere.
After Saqlain’s breather, the mute option had to be applied again.
Then Ashish Nehra, when compelled to mention his favourite MSD moment (or something like that) was nonchalantly dismissive as only he can be – in the few bytes he gave Star Sports, he pretty much rubbished everything that everyone had been going on and on about Dhoni.
For Nehra, it wasn’t the 2007 or 2011 or Champions Trophy memories. For, as Nehra admitted, he knew Dhoni differently – they had both played for India, and it was obvious there was something more private, something more personal, that Nehra held close about Dhoni. He, however, did not reveal what it was.
At that time, a much younger Nehra abusing Dhoni behind the stumps, flashed in front of my eyes. Nehra didn’t mention what it was, his memory wasn’t part of Star Sports #CaptainsLegacy or #CaptainCool package.
It was his. Just like yours and mine - both have our favourite Dhoni memories, or for that matter, many memories. Not everything is a hashtag.
Star Sports, more than others, have had their wits about them. They can take a leaf out of Dhoni’s cap, hold back a bit. It’s way classier. And leaves an impression.
First published here
Farewell Richie Benaud, and your Marvelous commentary team
And so, Richie is gone, and it shook me up a lot more than I thought it would, more than when I first learned he was fighting skin cancer. So much so that, despite having lost almost all interest in cricket over the last few years and barely watching half a game this world cup, I woke up at 3 am this morning sweating, recalling how much I loved Boxing Day in the 90s. And how far I drifted from the game as it evolved, both inside the commentary box (ah, so regrettably) and outside.
Two decades ago, it was such a joy to watch a test series being hosted in Australia. The grounds always looked so pristine under azure skies. The quality of cricket was almost always top notch. And then there was the commentary, which just took the experience to another level. Perhaps it was the banter and camaraderie that came so naturally with working together for so long, perhaps it was how strikingly different and original each member was. But whatever it was, the Channel 9 commentary team of that era brought the game to life.
There was Bill Lawry of course, who could barely contain his exuberance. There was the mischievous Tony Grieg, always needling either one of his co-commentators or sections of the audience. There was Ian Chappell with his no nonsense and common sense approach, always trying to spot something seemingly insignificant and pointing out its technical importance. None of these three ever hesitated to call out one another if they believed a tall claim was being made, and they minced no words. But when they disagreed with Richie, there was always that little bit of extra respect.
Richie almost never chastised anyone, the one time he did not hide his disgust, (the underarm incident) people were so stunned that the video has endured to this day as the quintessential reaction of the age to the controversy. He stood by his convictions though, and a few years ago while the rest of the (new and not so admired) crew were tearing into Nathan Lyon, it was Richie who backed him up and compared his own stats to Nathan's after the same number of tests. As with most of his prescient observations, that faith he showed in Lyon was built on a solid understanding of the game drawn from both playing and observing at the highest levels.
They all had roles to play, and they played them perfectly. Lawry was the excited patriotic fan (who can forget his "Canary yellow??? That's Australian gold and don't you ******* forget it" to of course, none other than Tony), Grieg the brash antagonizer, Chappell the straight talker and Richie... well Richie just brought it all together with a pithy one liner. They agreed, they disagreed, they held completely different points of view, but all the while they kept the viewer engaged and enriched those few hours of the day. What shone through though, was their love and knowledge of the game. Several commentators since have tried emulating their style, individually and as a group. Yet I don't know if any will ever garner the affection this team did.
Sport commentary comes in all shapes and forms. For some sports, such as Snooker or Billiards it is perhaps not needed (the commentators do actually go silent during a break), while for others like Formula One, it is integral to the sport (just imagine watching a race without the commentary, the only audible sound being the engines). For the more fast paced sports, like boxing or football, the television commentator's role is hard to distinguish from a radio commentator's role, merely describing events as they happen, yet people adore their passion, they just love hearing that simple narrative. Cricket has always been a different beast, given that people have always referred to it as being more intellectually inclined, and the long pauses between play... between each ball, each over, each session, each day... It is only natural that television viewers demanded more of the men and women who would describe the game. Very few could ever have demanded more of Richie, as he succinctly captured the essence of a moment, or his team. Cricket, and especially cricket commentary, may never again have that charm.
Two decades ago, it was such a joy to watch a test series being hosted in Australia. The grounds always looked so pristine under azure skies. The quality of cricket was almost always top notch. And then there was the commentary, which just took the experience to another level. Perhaps it was the banter and camaraderie that came so naturally with working together for so long, perhaps it was how strikingly different and original each member was. But whatever it was, the Channel 9 commentary team of that era brought the game to life.
There was Bill Lawry of course, who could barely contain his exuberance. There was the mischievous Tony Grieg, always needling either one of his co-commentators or sections of the audience. There was Ian Chappell with his no nonsense and common sense approach, always trying to spot something seemingly insignificant and pointing out its technical importance. None of these three ever hesitated to call out one another if they believed a tall claim was being made, and they minced no words. But when they disagreed with Richie, there was always that little bit of extra respect.
Richie almost never chastised anyone, the one time he did not hide his disgust, (the underarm incident) people were so stunned that the video has endured to this day as the quintessential reaction of the age to the controversy. He stood by his convictions though, and a few years ago while the rest of the (new and not so admired) crew were tearing into Nathan Lyon, it was Richie who backed him up and compared his own stats to Nathan's after the same number of tests. As with most of his prescient observations, that faith he showed in Lyon was built on a solid understanding of the game drawn from both playing and observing at the highest levels.
They all had roles to play, and they played them perfectly. Lawry was the excited patriotic fan (who can forget his "Canary yellow??? That's Australian gold and don't you ******* forget it" to of course, none other than Tony), Grieg the brash antagonizer, Chappell the straight talker and Richie... well Richie just brought it all together with a pithy one liner. They agreed, they disagreed, they held completely different points of view, but all the while they kept the viewer engaged and enriched those few hours of the day. What shone through though, was their love and knowledge of the game. Several commentators since have tried emulating their style, individually and as a group. Yet I don't know if any will ever garner the affection this team did.
Sport commentary comes in all shapes and forms. For some sports, such as Snooker or Billiards it is perhaps not needed (the commentators do actually go silent during a break), while for others like Formula One, it is integral to the sport (just imagine watching a race without the commentary, the only audible sound being the engines). For the more fast paced sports, like boxing or football, the television commentator's role is hard to distinguish from a radio commentator's role, merely describing events as they happen, yet people adore their passion, they just love hearing that simple narrative. Cricket has always been a different beast, given that people have always referred to it as being more intellectually inclined, and the long pauses between play... between each ball, each over, each session, each day... It is only natural that television viewers demanded more of the men and women who would describe the game. Very few could ever have demanded more of Richie, as he succinctly captured the essence of a moment, or his team. Cricket, and especially cricket commentary, may never again have that charm.
Let's talk about sex.
I love talking about stuff nobody else will, especially on air. On this NDTV show, I started with bummer trips and commentary, go on to the Rohit Sharma vs Virat Kohli bias on air, a few years back - led by two Indian commentators, and the icing on the cake, CSK - and naturally, fixing follows.
You can listen to the whole thing here on NDTV
Also on board are Dean Jones, Venki Prasad, Kishore Bhimani, and best of all these incredible imitations of Tony Greig, Shastri, SRT, Bhogle, you name it. His name's Sabyasachi Tripathy, look out for it.
Meet the amazing Dean du Plessis: The blind cricket commentator.
Also read: Zimbabwe's blind commentator is on the ball
If you have an annecdote, do share it on Blind Cricket Crazy Indians (BCCI)
Meet BCCI's Embedded Commentators
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.ravishastri/sunilgavaskar/bcci.com/embed/9S8Op2kSkbk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Good old Vizzy.
Bygone days. Radio days of yore. Of “running commentary”: No TV cricket visuals with live signage. But the running commentary was lively indeed. By big names or cricket stalwarts. For India, it was Vizzy or the Maharaja of Vizianagram: full of fun with barbs at youngsters of his days, but also with fulsome praise when called for. Yet he spoke sense. He could share the mike and take a break.
But not so Devraj Puri. A fussilade of words and a loner of sorts because he couldn’t share the mike or the time. One-man show. Breakneck speed and ball by ball account, no asides like Vizzy’s. Recall yes, comparisons galore but only when someone was out. Good voice, good info. Devraj’s son, Narottam, was also into cricket, but a doctor and a medicine man of sports. Almost like his Dad, but a lot slower. Not a speed merchant, a word reserved for the real fast bowlers in the old days.
by Lalit
blogs at cnunc
Boring Cricket Commentating Idiots XI
With commentary being such an integral part of the cricketing experience, it's only fitting that there was a discussion on the best in the business. There have been teams of the year and sides of the century, but honours don't come much greater than being part of the greatest collection of commentators to have irritated us with their cliches and prejudices. So with much satisfaction and a large dose of fear, BCC! is introducing the definitive search for the all-time crappiest commentators from all the Test-playing countries.
It's time we recognized the booming voice of Ravi Shastri, the patronising comments of Sir Ian Botham, those anti-white remarks of Sunil Gavaskar. Ian Healy needs to be appreciated for wearing his baggy green in the Channel 9 commentary box. And this list wouldn't be complete without Tony Greig who is in a tririlemma about what team to call his own. Make no mistake, the competition will be tense and since there can only be a team of 11, something will have to give. Rest assured the race will go down to the wire.
In order to ensure none of these commentators slip through the web, I encourage our readers to nominate the commentators that have enriched their cricket-viewing experience with their description of the bleeding obvious. We're talking about the kings of cliches, the princes of bad puns, the badshahs of bias. Nominations are welcome until 00:00 GMT on Sunday, December 6. Once the nominations are in, due diligence will be done to examine their commentating credentials. The list will be divided into groups based on the commentators' primary job when they were cricketers. Our XI will comprise 2 opening batsmen, 3 middle order batsmen, an allrounder, a wicket-keeper, 3 pace bowlers and a spinner.
Voting with start from Monday, December 7 with readers choosing their opening batsmen. It will continue for 7 days, after which it will be turn of middle order stalwarts. This will continue for six weeks, after which BCC! will announce the Elite Eleven.
In case you're wondering what's in it for the voters, there is absolutely nothing. However, it does give them a chance to hurl abuses at commentators, share their favourite quotes, basically provide further evidence of how bored and cricket crazy they are.
You've come a long way, baby.
Marvan is somewhat of a family joke. For a guy who barely made it through post match interviews, it takes some doing to be wading through hours of pre, post and in between match conferences.
Yesterday, mother appeared from nowhere and pointed out, “areh, this is that…Atapattu, isko kya ho gaya, yeh bara smart ho gaya!”
We laughed, as one does, or two do, or most people would, at Atapattu’s expense.
Now the warped bit is I like Atapattu more than most people. More than Atapattu at least, anyway he doesn’t seem to like himself.
I enjoyed his miserable, grumbling onfield demeanour, playing cricket was a calamity for him. In spite of that he played 90 tests, 268 ODIs, today much retired, cricket is poorer richer without him.
" A gift for India"
That was Sanjay Manjrekar describing the Ricky Ponting run out. This was followed by " It was a good thing it was a direct hit, else the throw would have been awkward for the bowler".
This when Gautam Gambhir covered good distance in the outfield, fielded the ball with his wrong hand and then made a dead eye throw from 50 metres ( or more) to throw down the wickets at the non strikers end. Against one of the best judges of the run in the modern game, and one of its swiftest movers.
Any other team and Manjrekar would have jumped off his seat praising the accuracy and the speed of the throw along with the agility and the mobility of the fielder. Case in point - when Hussey and Ponting were playing the short singles, Manjrekar was " the sharp single.. This is what Australia bring to the game".
And this has been the leitmotif of almost all cricketing discussion in India.
When India wins, we will find every possible reason to qualify our win. When we lose, we exaggerate every real or perceived fault.
We are the best ODI team in the world. So when we lose, it is the trigger for national mourning. However, the fact that we are the best team in the world is qualified with Australia not being the force it was, England being ordinary, New Zealand not playing enough cricket. And look, India cannot sustain the number 1 ranking, so they dont deserve the ranking.
Just like India cannot play short pitched bowling. Never mind the fact that in the 2000s, we have the second best record ( after Australia) in winning overseas. And never mind the fact too that in this day and age, hardly anyone can play when the conditions are even so slightly off the norm. And never mind too that T20 is not ODI which is not Test Cricket, an argument that gets thrown up often every time an Indian, especially a youngster, performs.
Like, when a kid scores in the IPL, the first argument heard is that it is all fine and dandy to play the slam bang version of the game, but none of these kids can hold their own in Tests. However, when the same kids have problems scoring off the short ball in T20, the argument is that there is atechnical problem and how the future is bleak.. Conveniently forgetting that the T20 is the slam bang version of the game, unlike Tests, where the batsman can keep ducking under the ball till the cows come home!
And so on and so forth.
And this is from people who get paid to watch the game!
And then we berate "Match Ka Mujrim". I wonder why?
IPL Spy in Colombo.
Listen to Danny Morrison: he calls a six a Maximum.
And his t shirt says 'one day all T20s will be IPL.'
According to Danny, 'that tested the fielder and it's gone for four.'
That would be semi-maximum, Danny, you're slipping.
Rameez Raja - King of funny times
“Kulasekara has been a thorn in Pakistan’s development as a team.” And Kamran Akmal’s intro “he’s a floater, can bat anywhere… and very good behind the stumps”. Appears the IPL stint has been a thorn in Rameez’s development. What with the pace of T20, Rameez needs to bowl some slower ones.
Agreed Akmal is a floater, but ‘very good behind the stumps’ is a stretch.
When Rameez belted out Bollywood songs, you laughed with him, not at him. Here’s to RRLOL!
“Naseer Jamsher fell, very early, the first ball!” Power off, here in Delhi, and on Pakistan in Dambulla. Joined again at 60/4. The floater gone, along with the foot in the mouth…er!
Michael Atherton's S-Mug shot
There is some cricket stuff you always grapple with – like, was Michael Atherton ever a cricketer. Did he ever play with a cricket bat and not just his little microphone? The other evening, I’m with a re-run of Freddie’s game, and who pops into frame – Atherton, so smug, you’d think he took a five for and beat the Aussies single-handedly with mike in hand, doing one of his cocky interviews. And while accepting the trophy for the wimp of the match, he’ll nonchalantly say, “Even Rudi can’t give that out”
Jumbo's First Mumbo ?
"I have always wanted to contribute to the game of cricket whether on or off the field. My association with ESPN STAR Sports poses an interesting challenge for me as I have never tried serious analysis before," Anil Kumble said
Anil bhai , shouldn't that read :
"The game of cricket has always wanted to contribute to my bank balance whether on or off the field. My association with ESPN STAR Sports poses an interesting challenge for me as I have never tried serious analysis before of the effect earnings from commentary will have upon it "
We haven't either , Anil bhai - not a serious one , at least - but we think it will probably grow.
Happy Bored Day Ravi Shastri!
to see Ravi's page today, click on his link (to your left) like a tracer bullet now! Tomorrow it'll be someone who keeps to himself: Dujon.
B the moment of the match
When Ranjit Fernando is in front of the mike, every word he utters is a big moment for the viewer.
Deccan playing Punjab
Second over of the Punjab innings, Sohal facing RP Singh
After scoring consecutive boundaries off RP's first two balls, Sohal cuts the third one hard. The ball travels to what looked like Gully for everyone in the world except...
Yes you guessed it right, Mr Fernando.
In his characteristic high decibel "OnCe AGgan, he slapps theB aAll, and the fielDerr in the secCund slip puts it down"*
It's okay is someone misplaces a cover & a country, gully with a second slip? That is quite a slip-up.
PS: Sometimes looking at the way Mr Fernando speaks, I fear he might get his tongue twisted in a reef knot any moment.
* Try this the Ranjit Fernando way at leisure. You might want someone who knows how to remove a reef knot next to you when you do try this !!
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