Ashes Commentary

[chalky]

On Chappelli when Sky first started showing the Channel 9 feed he was my favourite commentator - He was such a contrast to all the other cheer leader commentators and was a great analyst of especially of captaincy and bating technique. Now I can't bear to listen to him he comes in the commentry box with his own ideas (not a bad thing in itself) but would refuse to comprimise even if what was happening in the match proved him completely wrong. But most of all he comes across as if commentating is a chore to him and god help if any other commentator has differing opinions to him. With all the faults that Greig and Lawry have at least you still get feeling that they have an enthusiasm for cricket and really enjoy their job something you just don't get from Chappelli.

 

[BingLeeElectric]

3rd best commentator ever, down from Benaud and Boycott, the bloke's a legend.

Good post.

 

[Burgey]

Good post.

Yep, Nicholas is quality. In Australia it's gone form "Who's the Pommie?" to "When's the Pommie on again?"

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

He's grown on me as well. I never much liked him before, but I like his enthusiasm, and as a cheerleader commentator he's certainly better to listen to than Lawry or Lloyd.

 

[chalky]

How have Channel 9 responded to Warne bowling outside leg stump to Pietersen.

With Sky Holding & Atherton were very critical of Australia where as Hussain said it was justified & up to the batsmen to adapt.

 

[BingLeeElectric]

With Sky Holding & Atherton were very critical of Australia where as Hussain said it was justified & up to the batsmen to adapt.

Hussains said that?

Good on him, he's not as stupid as I thought.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

How have Channel 9 responded to Warne bowling outside leg stump to Pietersen.

With Sky Holding & Atherton were very critical of Australia where as Hussain said it was justified & up to the batsmen to adapt.

Simon O'Donnell bashed it a bit, but mostly in the vein of his obsessive Pietersen worship. Things like "one of the greats here is making the best leg-spinner of all time like skill-less". The usual crap from him, in other words.

Most of the other commentators were pretty negative about it too. Ian Chappell was suggesting that the crowd wouldn't stand for it, and a couple of the others went on about how it appeared to be a surrender from Warne and Australia didn't have any answers etc. Nobody actually suggested it was not legitimate as a tactic, merely that it was a bad sign.

 

[Slow Love™]

Hussains said that?

Good on him, he's not as stupid as I thought.

He'd probably look something of a hypocrite if he'd condemned it, given Giles' occasional tendency to pitch whole spells outside leg under his leadership.

 

[Slow Love™]

Simon O'Donnell bashed it a bit, but mostly in the vein of his obsessive Pietersen worship. Things like "one of the greats here is making the best leg-spinner of all time like skill-less". The usual crap from him, in other words.

No defence of SOD's comments, but Pietersen really does own Warne at times. You just don't see it that often outside of a few Indian bats who have dominated him.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

No defence of SOD's comments, but Pietersen really does own Warne at times. You just don't see it that often outside of a few Indian bats who have dominated him.

No question. He has played him very well in both tests so far, though last Ashes was a fairly even battle I think. Doesn't alter the fact that O'Donnell is a goon and his Pietersen obsession is a bit creepy. At least with Greig you expect it.

 

[GIMH]

Healy was harsh on Flintoff & Giles this morning I thought. The way he was going on you'd have thought we were scoring at 1 in over in the last 10 of the WC Final (farcical thought, I know), no that we'd just gone past 500 against the best side in the world. Idiot.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Anyone else (Australian, probably) a bit annoyed with the cricinfo lot this series so far? With the cut to the news half an hour from stumps today I went to radio coverage and cricinfo, and they're a bit annoyingly biased towards England. Not so much in terms of their analysis (which I can handle), just in that Lawry/Lloyd sort of cheerleader bias that grates a bit.

The stuff about Flintoff bowling to Gilchrist for instance. Sort of annoying that the commentator was banging on and on about how Gilchrist struggles against Flintoff, and every delivery which is even mistimed gets a gleeful description, and then it's a lazy boundary. The "needs to sucker him into a yorker" comment was a bit much, too.

91.1 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, and Flintoff is right on the money straight away, Gilchrist is stuck in his crease and defends on the back foot. Should have been forward to that one...
91.2 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, there's the line, there's the length! Outside off, in the corridor and Flintoff smiles, knowingly, at Gilchrist who leaves it alone
91.3 Flintoff to Gilchrist, 1 run, and he gets off the strike there, pushing it into the covers but there was little feet movement...Gilchrist relying on his excellent eye to time it, which he does, and get off the strike

93.1 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, and this leaves the left hander slightly who, too, leaves it alone[
93.2 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, Gilchrist times it into the covers - good length from Flintoff, Gilchrist not really on top of that
93.3 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, great line again, Gilchrist really is being made to concentrate fiercely hard here. Just a bit of nibble outside off but the batsman defends firmly on the back foot
93.4 Flintoff to Gilchrist, no run, and again he goes back to defend.
93.5 Flintoff to Gilchrist, FOUR, bang! He's laced it through point for four
Flintoff needs to drag him forward, sucker him into a yorker
93.6 Flintoff to Gilchrist, 2 runs, punched off the back foot

 

[pasag]

Yeah been annoying for a few months now, they think they're comedians as well.

 

[andyc]

Just noticed this--

72.5 Pietersen to Ponting, 3 runs, flatter and quicker on middle and off, Ponting goes back and turns that around the corner, they run hard and Hussey is caught struggling on the third, a wayward throw comes back from Harmison high over the stumps, Jones has some work to do, collects it over his head and brings it down, whips offthe bails, Hussey dives and his bat is just inside, that was close call, third umpire took a long time deciding. Ponting played it round the corner to fine leg, Hussey dived for the crease, and agonising delay for the replay, decision not out, despite the bails moving while the bat was out of the crease. The problem was the gap between frames, but it's fair to say it was a controversial call

Hardly...

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Just noticed this--


Hardly...

Yeah, that one was a bit silly too. It was close, but obviously impossible to give it out under the circumstances.

 

[archie mac]

Lawson and Roebuck had a debate about whether Warne's tactics of bowling outside leg stump.

Lawson though it a good idea and fair enough, while Roebuck thought it nothing more then a negative tactic and a blight on the game.

I thought Lawson had the better of it, although I agree with Roebuck

 

[howardj]

I'd agree with Roebuck in this instance. I've seen Warne come around the wicket many times in a positive, wicket-taking way (for instance, against Jacques Kallis). However, yesterday he was just bowling into Pietersen's pads in an attempt to dry up the scoring. He had very little interest in threatening the batsman's tenure.

 

[superkingdave]

Haha Cricinfo is really a joke tbh, awful commentary

 

[shortpitched713]

Yeah been annoying for a few months now, they think they're comedians as well.

So true, really utter dross coming from the cricinfo commentary team, they're usually much better and I don't remember them being this bad last Ashes series.

 

[PhoenixFire]

Loved it when Goughy came to talk to Gower about times at tea on SKY (England), he had Hussain and Atherton in splits. Hussain and Atherton of all people!