For the last six weeks we’ve been scrutinising the form of the English and Australian players. In newspapers and blogs, no stone has been left unturned as we endlessly analyse how the two sides have shaped up. But what about the performance of an equally important squad of participants – the ex -players and pundits who keep us company through those lonely small hours of the night. We thought it high time we considered how the commentators are shaping up in this, the most crucial series of all.
SKY SPORTS
David Gower 7/10 Solid and dependable as always, and his hair colour seems to be finally settling down after last summer’s flirtation with mauve. Characteristically, tends to use a number of words, or you could say units of language, which is not unadjacent to several, and perhaps takes a route around the houses which is circular in shape, rather than just getting to the bloody point. Can also appear a little less than awe-inspired when the big moments occur. While commentating on Peter Siddle’s Gabba hat-trick, he sounded, as Wisden’s Ed Craig put it, as if he was picking up his dry-cleaning. Admittedly, he staged a recovery of kinds when calling the final wicket at Melbourne: “Australia are beaten…well beaten…beaten into the earth!!”
Mike Atherton 10/10 How flabby would Sky be without him? With every series, Athers reinforces his credentials as the definitive cricket commentator of our times. Authoritative, elegant, concise, and illuminating. And bear in mind he wasn’t a bad player in his day either – how unfair of Atherton to be very talented at two completely different things.
Sir Ian Botham 2/10 As Alan Tyers observed in the Telegraph, if Andrew Strauss placed a fielder everywhere Sir Ian wanted one, England would require 47 players. When expostulating his wisdom, it’s interesting how rarely he refers to his own captaincy record (played 12, won 0). Gingoistic, and forever grumbling at his incomprehension at what’s going on out there, Botham has become the new Fred Trueman.
Mikey Holding 5/10 While still offering the occasional nugget of genuine insight, ‘Whispering Death’ still retains his fatal flaw of stating the bleeding obvious. “That one will go all the way. No chance of stopping that one. That will be four. Another boundary.” And so on…
Shane Warne 9/10 Uniquely perceptive, concise, magnanimous to England, and downright funny. A memorable bon mot concerned the notion of Justin Langer driving the Australian team coach. Warney chipped in to say JL would need a telephone book to sit on, so he could see out of the windscreen. Our only complaint is that, due to his Channel 9 commitments, Warne is not on air with Sky nearly enough.
David Lloyd 7/7 Usually seen as the joker in Sky’s pack, it’s easy to overlook Bumble’s genuine insight into the mechanics of the game, and the dynamics of a match situation. Is the only front-line commentator with experience of international coaching – and, uniquely, umpiring.
TEST MATCH SPECIAL
Jonathan Agnew 10/10 Enough said. Brilliant as always. One of the most naturally gifted communicators on radio anywhere, Aggers combines warmth and wit with a mellow authority, plus proper journalistic sensibilities.
Simon Hughes 6/10 Interesting one this, especially as he’s been given the mantle of commentator, not summariser – responsible for ‘calling’ the action. So far Hughes has not sounded quite at home in the job, and still operates in TV mode – clipped, dry and staccato, rather than using words to paint pictures. Neither is he yet fully attuned to the nuances and ambience of TMS. He is a very intelligent and astute broadcaster, however, and will probably acclimatise to the role – if given time. At any rate, he’s better than Henry Blofeld.
Michael Vaughan 9/10 Watch out Athers – there’s another ex-England captain coming up on the rails behind you! Vaughan is a born commentator – wry, elegant, articulate, and able to speak from significant personal experience. How long can TMS keep hold of him before Sky Sports get out their chequebook?
Jim Maxwell 5/10 One Ashes series too many for the Ocker stalwart? His gravitas is undeniable, but Maxwell seems to have lost his joie de vivre. In fact, to be frank, he’s been as dull as billabong water. Still, after his condescension towards us over the last five series down under, it’s gratifying to hear him reiterate his new catchphrase: “Australia are under the pump”.
Thoughts?
Maxie Allen
I did not think it was possible but Sir Ian has actually got worse in this series. Despite his playing and commentary experience, at times he seems to be struggling to follow what is happening. Vaughan has been good but he is still very careful over any criticism of his former team mates. I imagine that as the team slowly evolves, he will be a bit more honest in his assessments. I have enjoyed Simon Hughes so far and I hope TMS continue with him. The best part of this Ashes is the limited input from Willis and Allott.
There are four kinds of commentators.
1. Great players who are also excellent broadcasters – eg, Mike Atherton, Richie Benaud.
2. Modest players who are excellent broadcasters, eg Aggers, Mark Nicholas.
3. Great players who are modest broadcasters, eg Botham.
4. Paul Allott.
Good review, haven’t watched enough Sky to comment, but agree with the excellence of Athers and Aggers. I also believe Simon Hughes will become a better broadcaster on radio, I love him because his analysis on Channel 4 & 5 has significantly ingratiated my wife to cricket and helped her understand it better. So I’m a fan.
Disagree at the swipe against Blofeld – I see him as a national treasure.
Would only give Vaughan a 7 personally, he has good moments and doesn’t get too bogged down with BBC objectivity, but a bit full of himself and comes up with the odd real ‘miss’.
You don’t analyse Boycott, I guess he’s not been on air much, but his summaries on the TMS podcast are hideous and his commentary moment ‘England won’t get 20 wickets here’ (MCG) followed up with a put-down to Aggers ‘I’m the expert’ was proof that the BBC should just rip up any contract they have with him and remove him from any proximity to a microphone ever again, he’d score 0 or lower if I were to give him a score.
just wanted to ask do you think alistar cook will become leading run scorer in test cricket for england, i think he still got another 10 years he’s only 25 just turned he’s a young man with nearly 5 thousan already
I think it all depends on whether he ignores the coaches and sticks with his natural technique. Last year he looked like a fish out of water and shouldn’t have been anywhere near the test side. He needed time away from the game to sort his game out – a bit like Strauss a couple of years ago. Instead, the coaches kept tinkering with his technique mid-series and almost ruined him.
Now that the coaches have given up trying to change him and he’s gone back to his natural quirky technique (the one that got him selected in the first place), he looks composed again. If he keeps going like he is, I think he could indeed become England’s leading scorer …. it helps that there’s a lot more test cricket these days though!
Richard – I’d say that both Boycott and Blofeld are Marmite commentators. For me, Boycott retains an uncanny ability to predict the course of a test match – as well as being one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about batting techqnique. Not everyone likes his broadcasting style – I think he knows he has a reputation to live up, and therefore hams it up a bit sometimes.
Re Blowers – personally, never seen the appeal, beyond his unique voice. I don’t think he either knows very much about cricket, or has a particularly nifty turn of phrase. It’s all affectation with Blowers – doing an impression of Brian Johnston crossed with John Arlott.
Could not agree more. Blowers actually makes me turn off and Botham is not much better. Friends and I liken him to the school yard bully who needs to be told ‘joking’ Hussain (who you haven’t mentioned but is good) didn’t hit sixes (ha, has not!) is not particularly insightful.
While living in Oz I also sampled the Channel 9 crew who shouldn’t be dismissed. Ian Healy and Slats are good.
Whenever cornered, Botham’s response is always something like, “so how many test wickets did you get, then?”
Channel 9 is worth a whole separate article. Healy is not my favourite of theirs, but they have some tremendous characters in Lawry and Greig, plus of course Benaud.
Totally agree on Botham, never says anything of interest and his own still-massive ego takes precedence over what’s happening in the game. Think you’re a bit harsh on Michael Holding, he does have a good insight (especially when he’s 3rd Man in the Sky box, or when he’s commenting on quick bowling) and it’s always good to have a neutral commentator, especially in a series as partisan as the Ashes.
It’s interesting to compare the commentary on the Ashes with the other major series just completed, South Africa v India. The South African broadcasters are so one-eyed they make Botham sound like a neutral and Ravi Shastri like an Indian Richie Benaud.
Holding knows what he’s talking about, sure, but he’s not a very natural TV broadcaster – he should let the pictures speak for themselves, and add to them, rather than just telling us what we can see.
I agree it’s good to have a neutral, but I’m not sure he’s the best available. Barry Richards is generally more interesting and concise. I was never wholly convinced by Ian Smuth on C4. Harsha Bhogle is tremendous but as a non-player might lack authority in the Sky box. Tony Greig would be great on Sky but not sure if he’s neutral, English, Saffer or Aussie these days.
I’m a Simon Hughes fan, though I agree he’s not the finished radio broadcaster yet. I hope he sticks with TMS and grows into the role. Perhaps I’m partly influenced by having read and enjoyed a couple of his books (the first two) and admired his work as “The Analyst”. Hughes gives the impression of being a generation younger than CMJ and two generations younger than Blofeld; though he’s actually about the same age as Aggers (50’ish).
I heard on Sky (final day of Ashes) Andrew Strauss saying to Atherton that when England return to Australia he (Strauss) “might be on the other side of the microphone”. In reply Atherton said: “Steady on, some of us need a job you know!”. Gower then joked “Bad luck Nasser!”. I notice you haven’t rated Nasser Hussain in your blog post, I think he comes across quite well on TV . . . 6.75/10 maybe?
I like Strauss as a team leader, but I’m not sure I’d fancy his chances developing into an effective analyst or TV performer – always likely to be a bit wooden. Surely Vaughan would be a much, much better bet for Sky? I’m surprised the evil empire hasn’t signed him up already.
Further down the line Graeme Peter Swann will come into the picture. Bringing his new found fame from his inevitable stints in the jungle, on the dance floor, on ice skates and from swapping his wife (does he have a wife to swap?).
Wild prediction. Some of the TMS team to do a Packer and set up a rival cricket service (subscription); using the resources of testmatchextra.com and Wisden Cricketer – and assorted new technology.
Great comments, John. I omitted a few commentators for the sake of brevity. Nasser is very astute and sharp but perhaps lacks the voice and facility with language to quite reach the Athers/Aggers bracket. 8/10?
Great shout re Swann. He seems most likely to play the Phil Tufnell role as professional larrikin after retirement – although there’s also something quite thoughtful and substantial about him.
Strauss is a very bright guy, and as articulate a cricketer as any I can remember bar Atherton. Not sure commentary will be his thing though – I can more easily imagine him picking up a bunch of company directorships or being a consultant.
Yes, I’ll go along with 8/10 for Nasser. He certainly tried to add a bit of bite to the rather sleepy occasion that was England vs the Prime Minister’s 11 the other day (night).
Does anyone know how I can regularly read Atherton’s articles in the Times without subscribing? It’s a shame that the Sports Journalist of the Year is hidden behind a pay wall. I suppose I should put my hand in my pocket but I read another paper/s plus I never know when his articles are going to appear. Perhaps he’ll bring out a book of ‘Collected Journalism’. His autobiography was a little disappointing; I don’t think he particularly enjoys writing about himself. Nonetheless I expect several fine cricketing books from Athers in due course.
Aggers seems to have moved into the broadcasting summer of his career; hitting fifty has pushed him into fifth gear – 10/10. My Christmas read has just arrived (3 weeks late). ‘Inside the Box: The Real Story of Test Match Special’; could be interesting.
Yes, I think you’re right about Strauss. Post retirement we won’t have heard the last of him. A lucrative business career certainly, but some sort of public role as well. I was very impressed by the interviews he gave during the period of Pakistan tour crisis. A future Chairman of the ECB? Or if all else fails ICC President? (I’m not sure who’d want that latter job aside from John Howard.) Perhaps winding down with a Knighthood and Presidency of the MCC? Andrew Strauss GCMG (‘God Calls Me God’).
Graham Swann and Bonnie Langford on ice (shudders); doesn’t bare thinking about!
You were watching the PMXI game? That made three of us, as my cat also wandered into the room at one stage during the coverage.
We decided to bite the bullet and pay Murdoch his shilling so we could read Athers. It’s only quid for the first month or so, and you also get Gideon Haigh, Richard Hobson et al. I would rate the Times as the second best paper after the Telegraph – who don’t have Athers, but boast strength in depth.
You can certainly imagine Strauss pursuing that kind of Colin Cowdrey or Ted Dexter style career after retirement – a good old chap and a pillar of the establishment.
The most intriguing retirement speculation surrounds KP. You can’t easily imagine him becoming a coach. He bears some parallels with Eric Cantona – an outsider, with a unique and spectacular talent, who utterly divides opinion. Perhaps acting beckons?
Arguably there were three and a half of us looking on as perhaps we should include the Australian Prime Minister. She was there at the beginning and at the end, though I understand that she wandered off half way through to make some flood provision announcements which seems to indicate an appalling lack of priorities.
I’m not sure about the Times; I’d have to try the crossword before passing final judgement on whether it is value for money. There are multiple rumours that the Telegraph is going behind a paywall this year.
http://www.beehivecity.com/newspapers/daily-telegraph-news-paywall-creates-clear-divide-across-papers345687/
Yes, Strauss may become the Harold Abrahams of the 21st century. He may join Sir Matthew Pinsent and Lord Coe as chaps that can be trusted. God bless you Squire.
KP’s future? It’s difficulty to imagine him accepting that he’s just an ordinary mortal and settling down to a quiet life with the missus. Perhaps some bit part acting – or a Sky series ‘Kevin’s Great Adventures’ – wing walking, deep sea diving, hang gliding down K2 – but nothing that would make Kev him look foolish, he wouldn’t like that.