favourite / least favourite cricket commentators

[Langeveldt]

Favourites

Jonathon Agnew - The number of times I have called this guy class on these forums.. He is, for me, the non-assuming, knowledgable voice of cricket.. My favourite pundit by a country mile
Kerry O'Keefe - Funny as anything, his tandem with Aggers will forever go down in my mind as the funniest bits of sports commentary..
Graeme "Foxy" Fowler - The voice of domestic English cricket.. Knows his stuff and great to listen to
David Lloyd - Enough said, very funny, very self depreciating.. Brilliant bloke
Imraan Munschi, Mike Haysman, Pat Symcox - SABC commentators who I miss when Sky comes on.
Allan Donald - My hero, and a wealth of knowledge and a welcome cool head to the comm box. His accent is very Bloemfontein on dope though
Chris(?) Cowdrey
Neil Manthorp - Thought he was brilliant this winter on Talk Sport, havent heard enough from him though.

Dislike
Bob Willis - boo hoo bore bore drone drone dronnne
Henry Blofeld - Over rated, he isn't a good commentator and makes me cringe like anything..

 

[Smudge]

Favourite - beyond doubt for me is Jeremy Coney.

His pitch report at Napier on Saturday was one of a kind. The Hawke's Bay is wine country, and he managed to compare the pitch to a fine wine, using all his vocabulary to uncork (pun intended) a cracking pitch report.

I enjoy Bryan Waddle and Jerry on the radio. Ian Smith is good value, although he tends to get overly negative, and a bit melodramatic at times. I think Mark Richardson will improve too.

From Australia, I like Healy, Simon O'Donnell (when he does commentate), and Michael Slater.

Don't hear many others, but Mark Nicholas and Jonathan Agnew are good, as is David Lloyd.

Sidhu is an idiot.

 

[Deja moo]

Like : Sanjay Manjrekar, Dean Jones, Boycott, Holding,

Dislike: Shastri

All I can think off right now.

 

[Richard]

Neil Manthorp - Thought he was brilliant this winter on Talk Sport, havent heard enough from him though.

I enjoy Bryan Waddle ... on the radio.

I should shoot myself for missing them off my original list.

 

[Richard]

What about Ian Smith? I don't care too much when commentators are biased, but I feel it takes a bit a way from the value they might otherwise have as a reader of the game. Great commentators, like Richie for example, call the play on its merits rather than as a fan of any particular side. Plenty of both the channel 9 Australian bunch and the New Zealand commentary team do the opposite, and Ian Smith is the worst of the lot (along with Bill Lawry, perhaps).

I think you've never heard him aside from on C9 in that series last November.
I was truly amazed how partizan he was then, because I've never known him like that before, and I've been listening to him on all sorts of stations since 2000.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

I think you've never heard him aside from on C9 in that series last November.
I was truly amazed how partizan he was then, because I've never known him like that before, and I've been listening to him on all sorts of stations since 2000.

I've heard him a fair bit actually. We get all the New Zealand games on Australian TV.

 

[Langeveldt]

I should shoot myself for missing them off my original list.

Nah, just go for it anyway mate

 

[Richard]

I've heard him a fair bit actually. We get all the New Zealand games on Australian TV.

Hmm - and you always find him quite as partizan as he was in that particular series?

 

[chekmeout]

Favourite:- Navjot Singh Sidhu

I know a LOT of people hate him but I fail to understand why.. Yes he is a bit loud at times but the important thing is the entertainment value.. he entertains the masses. He is the only cricket commentator I can think of who dares to be different.. He can be really witty at times and always keeps people entertained..

Least Favourite:- Arun Lal
This dude DOES NOT know what hes talking about. He says extremely stupid things which irritate me...

1) After Pakistan is in an 100 odd run partnership and Indians have tried literally everything humanly possible to dismiss them Mr. Arun Lal says "The important thing here is for the Indians to realise that the time has come when they should try and take a wicket.. They should really try and dismiss either of these batsmen"
2) 3 times in the same over he goes "Thats a beautiful shot.. racing along towards the boundary.. thats another 4" and then an outfielder casually gets down on one knee and picks up the ball and returns it
3) Stupid things like saying Pakistan is leading by 2004 runs and after they take a single he says they are leading by 2005 runs.. takes him almost 5 minutes to correct himself
4) He is just plain IRRITATING

 

[honestbharani]

Favourite:- Navjot Singh Sidhu

I know a LOT of people hate him but I fail to understand why.. Yes he is a bit loud at times but the important thing is the entertainment value.. he entertains the masses. He is the only cricket commentator I can think of who dares to be different.. He can be really witty at times and always keeps people entertained..

Least Favourite:- Arun Lal
This dude DOES NOT know what hes talking about. He says extremely stupid things which irritate me...

1) After Pakistan is in an 100 odd run partnership and Indians have tried literally everything humanly possible to dismiss them Mr. Arun Lal says "The important thing here is for the Indians to realise that the time has come when they should try and take a wicket.. They should really try and dismiss either of these batsmen"
2) 3 times in the same over he goes "Thats a beautiful shot.. racing along towards the boundary.. thats another 4" and then an outfielder casually gets down on one knee and picks up the ball and returns it
3) Stupid things like saying Pakistan is leading by 2004 runs and after they take a single he says they are leading by 2005 runs.. takes him almost 5 minutes to correct himself
4) He is just plain IRRITATING

I didn't know the Pakistanis got such a big lead....... We would have needed a timeless test to chase 2005 runs........



My faves:

Ian Chappell (I like his anecdotes)
Greg Chappell (feels like a cricketing lecture, but still interesting)
Geoff Boycott (loves the Indian team and is yet, unbiased)
Sunil Gavaskar (beyond his Sachin-patronizing, is pretty insightful)
Mark Taylor (funny voice, talks fast (I do that too))
Ian Bishop (best of the Windies commentators, slightly biased towards the Windies)
Nasser Hussain (includes some deadpan jokes, which are reasonably witty)
Ian Botham (he uses strange words at times)
Pat Symcox (biased towards RSA, but still a good commentator)
Dave Houghton (under rated)
Jeremy Coney (great fun to hear him)
Manjrekar (is pretty good these days)



Least fav:


Tony Greig (he provides interest to the game, but when he tries to analyse the game, he is rubbish)
Ravi Shastri
Bill Lawry
Ian Smith
Michael Holding
Harsha Bhogle (used to be good, his head seems to have gotten big these days)



Best : Richie Benaud



Worst : Navjot Sidhu

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

After spending a bit more time listening to the New Zealand lot of late I've grown to really enjoy Jeremy Coney, and I don't mind Ian Smith as much, even if he is biased. His arguments with Michael Slater are just hilarious. Chris Cairns and Martin Crowe are still really annoying though.

 

[Richard]

Harsha Bhogle (used to be good, his head seems to have gotten big these days)

That's a shame, he always seemed really good to me in 2001 and 2002.

 

[honestbharani]

he was, when he talked as a presenter and an analyst without going in too much on how he rated players, because when you are in the company of legends like Sunny and Boycs, it is better to let them do the ratings. Nowadays, he is talking as though he is Bradman.

 

[Richard]

That really is a great shame.
An Alan Green of cricket!
Harsha's radio-commentary is right up there with the very best. He can paint a picture of the action with almost an exact likeness.