Your dream commentary team

[Goughy]

Huh? Did I say he was popular etc?

All I said was that he's biased toward English players. Which he is. Does he criticise them? Yep. But he's all happy when they're winning and was brimming during the 5th test with belief England would win.

Botham's a bit like that. He was criticising Geriant Jones on Sky time and time again in the 1st and 2nd tests when he missed crucial stumpings and dropped many catches. Yet Beefy felt obliged to complement him later on in the Ashes. One minute he's criticising him, the next he's loved.

Bill Lawry talks about droppings and criticises his team. Yet when they're winning the player he criticises is the best thing since sliced bread.

In all cases, both men love their team and will show bias toward them... when they're winning.

He is not biased towards England players. He has being critical of them in the past to a far greater degree than the opponents. Why? because the opposition have generally been the better team.

So he gloated during the Ashes..so what? It was a one off series that the whole nation got caught up in. If you look at his body of work he has been anything but biased.

Sure he may want England to win, but he has generally been impartial and praised the players that live up to is own high standards with no regard for which team they play for.

Boycott has been commentating for a couple of generations of England teams and you are calling him out for one test.

[Francis]

What do biast people do when their team loses? They look for a scapegoat. They believe their team is the best and will find excuses and people to put the blame on.

[Tom Halsey]

Assuming this is current, then there's no way I'd have Benaud. I think he's lost it.

Boycott, Slater, Atherton are all good ones, and I also like Gower. I also quite like Taylor.

I don't know too much about commentators other than those from England, Australia and South Africa, all I know is that I hate most of the South Africans, save maybe Donald. I find that they're all incredibly biassed.

[Goughy]

What do biast people do when their team loses? They look for a scapegoat. They believe their team is the best and will find excuses and people to put the blame on.

What! Boycott has seldom looked for scapegoats and he certainly does not beleive England have or are the best team. Boycott has throughout his career blamed Englands losses on a lack of talent, a lack of preparation, a lack of dedication and poor training regimes. Nearly always blamed Englands lack of success on Englands failings which have been very accurate observations. These are not excuses to explain why the team is not performing to potential but reasons why they are not a good team. It is the opposite of biased to breakdown the failings of the team and the system and explain why they are not very good.

Boycott has never found excuses and he has always been Englands biggest critic. He is not blaming others for a lack of success but those that cross the white line. That is called expecting personal accountability rather than scapegoating.

How long have you been listening to him and how often?

[steds]

all I know is that I hate most of the South Africans, save maybe Donald. I find that they're all incredibly biassed.

I agree. They have horrible accents, too.

[FaaipDeOiad]

I don't know too much about commentators other than those from England, Australia and South Africa, all I know is that I hate most of the South Africans, save maybe Donald. I find that they're all incredibly biassed.

I can handle Barry Richards. The rest are awful though - easily the most biased commentators in the world. When Australia made their 400+ score they spent the first 20 overs talking about how lucky Australia was not to lose early wickets, then the next 25 overs talking about how flat the pitch was, and the last 5 overs in mourning. I don't mind a little bit of home bias, so long as it doesn't get in the way of commenting on the game in a constructive way, but when everything is about how the home team has been screwed over or the other team is lucky or how it's "sad" that someone from the opposition is playing well or something... it's just irritating.

[Francis]

How long have you been listening to him and how often?

Years.

Boycott has throughout his career blamed Englands losses on a lack of talent, a lack of preparation, a lack of dedication and poor training regimes.

Like I said, excuses.

[Goughy]

Years.



Like I said, excuses.

Well if they are excuses what are the reasons, in your opinion, for Englands long term failure during Boycotts tenure in the booth?

Since when has an excuse for failure been that the team is not good enough. It is not biased when you have a realistic appraisal of a topic. An excuse is used to explain something that could in your opinion easily have had a different outcome. Boycott has always looked deeper than this and never waved off a failure with a simple excuse.

Biased definition: To cause to have often negative opinions formed without sufficient knowledge. A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment.

Boycott is a realist with high standards. He may be concentrated on England but his opinions are not pro-England. In fact many of his criticisms of England in the 90s have been indirectly adopted to form the basis of the current England system.

Did you know what the word biased meant before using it?

Pat Symcox is biased but Boycott is not

[SJS]

Benaud (of old)
Boycott
Nasser Hussain
Slater
Atherton
Ian Chappell
Holding

[howardj]

Slater
Atherton
Boycott
Gower
Manjrekar
Ian Chappell

[no1_gangsta_786]

My fav commentator is Dean Jones.

[Lillian Thomson]

I'm going for an all time team.

Richie Benaud
John Arlott
Jim Laker
Alan Mcgilvray
Tony Cosier
Fred Trueman - at his wittiest best, not the stuck in the past old fool of later years.

I don't think a lot of the current commentators like Gower and Botham actually enjoy their work, it's just that cricket is the only thing they know and they need to earn a living.

[SJS]

I'm going for an all time team.

Richie Benaud
John Arlott
Jim Laker
Alan Mcgilvray
Tony Cosier
Fred Trueman - at his wittiest best, not the stuck in the past old fool of later years.

I don't think a lot of the current commentators like Gower and Botham actually enjoy their work, it's just that cricket is the only thing they know and they need to earn a living.

THAT truly is a dream team !! Bravo.

I would have added Brian Johnston to that.

[Armadillo]

1. Nasser Hussain
2. Michael Atherton
3. Dean Jones
4. Robin Jackman
5. Sanjay Manjrekar

[Goughy]

THAT truly is a dream team !! Bravo.

John Arlott was the voice of cricket for me. His words and the tone of his voice were perfect. Still sorely missed after all these years.

With Johnston gone and Cosier and Benaud reaching an elderly stage which of the modern guys will take over their mantle as legendary cricketing voices?