Ian Healy Appreciation Thread

[slippy]

One of the best wicketkeepers i have seen, he rarely made a mistake with the gloves and he was also a very handy lower order batsman.

 

[duffer]

Forget his keeping, what a commentator!

 

[Jono]

When the awesomeness of their career is outweighed by their commentary you know there is just something about their commentary.

You've got that with Benaud... and now Healy.

For entirely different reasons!

 

[BoyBrumby]

Exactly so. Would appreciate him an awful lot more if he STFU.

Has improved very slightly, but there was effectively only one way to go.

 

[stephen]

His hundred against Ambrose/Walsh/Bishop at the Gabba was pure class and will go down as one of the greatest hundreds of all time.

 

[zaremba]

Edit: sorry, this is an appreciation thread, and on reflection I shouldn't write what I wrote.

 

[Mister Wright]

Heally was a great wicket keeper, no doubt, probably one of the greatest of all time. His work ethic was second-to-none. What a champion. I'm one of the rare few who enjoys his commentary, but can see how others don't like it.

 

[fredfertang]

Edit: sorry, this is an appreciation thread, and on reflection I shouldn't write what I wrote.

Have another couple of glasses of Rioja and reinstate it Mr Z - if its remotely close to your usual high standard I have no doubt it will entertain rather than derail

 

[Teja.]

To be fair to him though, Healy is genuinely insightful and entertaining when talking about wicket-keeping.

 

[NUFAN]

Has anyone else read his autobiography? Hands & Heals. It was a decent read.

Echo Stephen's thoughts of Healy's 100 at the GABBA, was a very fine knock, I really liked his cut shot.

 

[Noble One]

Nobody could deposit a delivery from one of the great West Indian quicks over the square leg fence quite like Healy.

 

[wfdu_ben91]

Edit: sorry, this is an appreciation thread, and on reflection I shouldn't write what I wrote.

 

[Lostman]

I'm coming out of the closet; I like his commentary
Cant see the reason for so much hate.

 

[slippyslip]

To be fair to him though, Healy is genuinely insightful and entertaining when talking about wicket-keeping.

When Healy first started commentating he was quite insightful about many aspects of the game and was quite technical. Overtime he has dumbed dumb his commentary to Footy Show level and become even more parochial - even by Queenslander standards.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Cant see the reason for so much hate.

It is Healy,enough said.

Being serious though he was a fine keeper and a fighter with the bat.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'm coming out of the closet; I like his commentary
Cant see the reason for so much hate.

I'll take this one:

he comes across (or used to when he started) as a chippy, sarky penis who makes it sound as if doing a job that most people on this forum would kill for is a tremendous effort for him.

 

[vic_orthdox]

To counterbalance a few of the less friendly posters here regarding Healy...

Few blokes I know swear by him as a keeping coach, reckon he is an absolute genius. Things that seemed tiny and irrelevant, which they said made their job so much easier as wicketkeepers.

 

[Pothas]

I'll take this one:

he comes across (or used to when he started) as a chippy, sarky penis who makes it sound as if doing a job that most people on this forum would kill for is a tremendous effort for him.

Think I would hate him if I was Australian or he was English but as it is he just makes me laugh.

 

[Jono]

Haha I do agree that we're being harsh on Heals in an appreciation thread.

So I'll say I'll never forget how much his arse stuck out when he batted. Really weird stance.

 

[Burgey]

He's certainly not my fave commentator, though I thought he was better this past summer.

As a keeper (as opposed to keeper-batsman) he's the best I've seen play for Australia since I started watching.