• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Ashes Commentary

howardj

International Coach
This is the place to have a dig and give a pat on the back to the Ashes commentators throughout the Summer.

Not sure who is doing radio this year, but this is the official line-up on Channel Nine this year:

Benaud
Chappell
Greig
Nicholas
Slater
Lawry
Healy
Taylor
Tufnell
and a new girl - Stephanie Brantz.
 

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Here’s hoping Sky have their own broadcast team, usually we get direct feeds from the nine boys but I really can’t stand some of those ‘characters’. As tosser’s go Nicholas is numero uno.
 

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
Sky will have their own team, BBC i think is taking Nine's for their highlights.

I assume Sky will have

Hussain
Gower
Atherton
Holding
Botham
Bumble
+ an Aussie

hopefully not Willis.

Not much to choose between the two, don't like Botham, or Gower particularly, but i think Hussain and Atherton are improving and i like Bumble for his irreverant banter. Don't particularly like the Nine line up apart from Slater who was pretty good when he did Channel 4 in the past, Hate Nicholas and i think Benaud's on the decline.
 

archie mac

International Coach
It may be another year of listening to the radio and watching the cricket. Lets just hope they have the sound in sync with the pictures this year:@

The radio team (ABC) will include Jim Maxwell, Damien Fleming, Skull and Jonathan Agnew
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
I really wish we could have the Australian commentary team in England instead of the boring Sky numpties. Radio 4 in the UK will be even worse with Jonathon - I will say "quite frankly" 10 times a session - Agnew, and Graham - I can't complete a sentence without saying "and eh" - Gooch.
 

superkingdave

Hall of Fame Member
sky website said:
while Ashes hero Bob Willis shares his views from back home.
good news imo, keep him as far away as possible. People need to stay awake.

Love the fact that his piece on the sky is entitled "Willis: Out of Harm's way"
 
Last edited:

Johnners

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Will be listening to most of the cricket this year, can't exactly stop work n sit in the lunch room all day :(

TBH i think the ABC line-up is fantastic with a few exceptions.

Jim Maxwell
Glenn Mitchell
Kerry O'Keefe
Jonathan Agnew
Peter Roebuck
Damien Fleming
Belinda Clark
Terry Alderman
Geoff Lawson

Skull, Agnew, Robey, Maxwell, Mitchell & Blowers are all guns imo, and are always fascinating to listen to. Fleming, Alderman & Lawson on the other hand have a distinct ability to make things seem boring, and really cheese me off.

Loving the fact that i won't have to listen to Mark Nicholas all that often either, sheesh, honestly someone shut him up!!!! Will miss Slats, Benaud & Heals tbh. Top 3 Channel at Channel 9 IMO
 

tooextracool

International Coach
superkingdave said:
Sky will have their own team, BBC i think is taking Nine's for their highlights.

I assume Sky will have

Hussain
Gower
Atherton
Holding
Botham
Bumble
+ an Aussie

hopefully not Willis.

Not much to choose between the two, don't like Botham, or Gower particularly, but i think Hussain and Atherton are improving and i like Bumble for his irreverant banter. Don't particularly like the Nine line up apart from Slater who was pretty good when he did Channel 4 in the past, Hate Nicholas and i think Benaud's on the decline.
I like Atherton and Hussain a fair bit. I think more often than not they make very interesting points and you can clearly see why they were both England captains for quite a while(Hussain more so than Atherton). While Lloyd isnt particularly brilliant when it comes to his knowledge of the game, at least he provides some comic relief as opposed to the likes of Botham and WIllis who spend most of their time complaining about some ridiculous non-issue which they usually end up being wrong about anyways. Gower and Nicholas are decent as well IMO without being spectacular. At least Nicholas can get do the melodrama quite well.
From the Australian side, even though i know it wont happen(it'll probably end up being Lehmann or someone else), id like to see Ian Chappell. I think he knows a lot more about the game than almost everyone else in the box. Probably alongside Geoffrey Boycott when it comes to his opinions about the game.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
I didn't mind Fleming when I first heard him, but he's really starting to bug me now.

As usual the 9 team will have a couple of decent people and a bunch of tools. Can't go wrong with Benaud and Slater, so at least they should bring the standard up a bit. I don't really mind Nicholas that much either, he's certainly better than the likes of Healy and Lawry.
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
FaaipDeOiad said:
I didn't mind Fleming when I first heard him, but he's really starting to bug me now.

As usual the 9 team will have a couple of decent people and a bunch of tools. Can't go wrong with Benaud and Slater, so at least they should bring the standard up a bit. I don't really mind Nicholas that much either, he's certainly better than the likes of Healy and Lawry.
You can tollerate Benaud? Fair enough.

I can't stand his commentary. He hasn't added anything new since 1979.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Mister Wright said:
You can tollerate Benaud? Fair enough.

I can't stand his commentary. He hasn't added anything new since 1979.
I love him tbh, always will. I'll cry like a little girl the day he dies.
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
FaaipDeOiad said:
I love him tbh, always will. I'll cry like a little girl the day he dies.
So will I. I just won't when he leaves the commentary box. That's assuming that he doesn't die with a microphone in hand.
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Mister Wright said:
So will I. I just won't when he leaves the commentary box. That's assuming that he doesn't die with a microphone in hand.
Don't get me wrong, he's not the commentator he used to be by a long shot, but he still adds some desperately needed class to that 9 commentary box, IMO. The likes of Healy and Lawry are such a waste of space that Benaud looks like a wordsmith by comparison, even into his late 70s as he is.

I really think Benaud was a superb commentator up until a few years ago, though. Witty, knowledgable, unbiased and professional. Certainly the best television commentator I've ever heard.
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
FaaipDeOiad said:
Don't get me wrong, he's not the commentator he used to be by a long shot, but he still adds some desperately needed class to that 9 commentary box, IMO. The likes of Healy and Lawry are such a waste of space that Benaud looks like a wordsmith by comparison, even into his late 70s as he is.

I really think Benaud was a superb commentator up until a few years ago, though. Witty, knowledgable, unbiased and professional. Certainly the best television commentator I've ever heard.
They're all fair points. While I agree on Lawry, can't agree on Healy. His enthusiasm for hawkeye is something that always brings a chuckle.

As far as Beneaud goes, I'm sick of the, "Ah yes,..." followed by a long pause, "cracking shot."
 

Johnners

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
It's not nearly as frustrating as hearing Tony Greig say "Ohhh what a wonderful shot, right of the meat of the bat" :@
 

Mister Wright

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Clapo said:
It's not nearly as frustrating as hearing Tony Greig say "Ohhh what a wonderful shot, right of the meat of the bat" :@
Greig is the 2nd worst. Lawry is the worst.

I'm sick of Lawry's "That's six! Wait a minute, no...tha'ts right down his throught." Or the other way around. Watching the classic one day matches on Foxsports, and he was even doing it in the late 80s.
 

Johnners

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Mister Wright said:
Greig is the 2nd worst. Lawry is the worst.

I'm sick of Lawry's "That's six! Wait a minute, no...tha'ts right down his throught." Or the other way around. Watching the classic one day matches on Foxsports, and he was even doing it in the late 80s.
haha so true, both are equally dire in any case.
 

Jono

Virat Kohli (c)
Mine too, despite his bias. Greig as well :ph34r:

I guess its because I was brought up on them.

Slats is one of my favourites though. From Sky I love listening to Nasser.
 

Top