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GROUP B - Australia, England, Zimbabwe

dontcloseyoureyes

BARNES OUT
I seriously don't buy into the whole, "she's a woman, so she'll get people watching" because I can't comprehend why they would watch, because she's such a poor commentator. I mean, the concept of having a woman in the box is a decent one, but I just don't think Donna Williams does the job.
Wow you're an idiot.
 

Poker Boy

State Vice-Captain
I shouldn't comment on this as when I did before the last Ashes I got into trouble - but if you are a man who hasn't played international cricket you're best chance of being a commentator is to have a *** change:laugh: :laugh: IMO a woman shouldn't be there - BUT. if they want to go down that route have a Clare Connor or Melanie Jones who has played the game.(surely if a male commentator has to be an ex player same with a woman - that's equality)
 

pasag

RTDAS
I shouldn't comment on this as when I did before the last Ashes I got into trouble - but if you are a man who hasn't played international cricket you're best chance of being a commentator is to have a *** change:laugh: :laugh: IMO a woman shouldn't be there - BUT. if they want to go down that route have a Clare Connor or Melanie Jones who has played the game.(surely if a male commentator has to be an ex player same with a woman - that's equality)
Mark Nicholas?

In response to Julian87, in AFL, some of the best commentators have never played the at the highest level. Also quality wise, Australia's best ever radio commenator Alan McGilvray never played at the highest level either. So if they're good enough I don't see why that level matters, not that I'm saying that Donna Symonds is, but that is a different issue (marketing the format etc as has been discussed).
 
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pasag

RTDAS
Plus Tony Cozier, Harsha Bhogle and others.
Yeah and then you move onto the journalists and writers on the game, Gideon Haigh - the best going around these days as well as Osman Samiuddin, Peter Roebuck (commentator as well). And then you have the greatest ever writers on the game, Sir Neville Cardus, A.A. Thomson and CLR James who never played Tests either.
 
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FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
Some excellent posts from pasag on this topic.

She was pretty bad, and created the feeling that she'd been taught cricketing buzz words but didn't actually know what they meant - at one stage she referred to a batsman having "arrived on the crease". Nevertheless, it's fairly obvious why she's there, and it's the same reason they have dancers and DJs and **** like that. It's part of the 20/20 package, and it seems to do pretty well at pulling in the crowds.

I've got no problem with a female commentator, but it does surprise me that they went for her ahead of a former female cricketer or something. ABC radio has done quite well with a former female cricketer as a commentator, for example.

Does anyone know Donna's background? Is she a sports journalist or something? And is English a second language? She had the air of someone like Waqar Younis, who may well know plenty about the game, but struggles at times with proper expression.
 

pup11

International Coach
Commentators are probably thinking that because the game is fast-paced so they are also required to speak non-stop nonsense, but the likes of Donna Symonds, Harsha Bhogle, Tony Cozier and Gavaskar have been really irritating most of the times during this tournament.
 

Days of Grace

International Captain
She's not that bad, but she's not that good either.

And feminism or any of that bs should never come into it. If she is better than a man, then put her in. If not, then the man gets the job.

Bumble is by far the most enjoyable commentator over there a.t.m. Chappell isn't that bad either.

I'm missing Tawny Greig though.

But Bill Lawry probably wouldn't gone down too well. These days he says 'bang!!' when a boundary is hit. Bloody hell, imagine how he would be commentating T20!!
 

FaaipDeOiad

Hall of Fame Member
If she is better than a man, then put her in. If not, then the man gets the job.
The issue is that "better" is relative. Personally I'm not a fan of cheerleader commentators, I think commentators are there to analyse the game and offer something constructive to assist the viewer, but obviously the view of cricket networks as a whole is that commenators are there to make the game more exciting and accessible. If they think having a woman will do that, irrespective of the quality of her analysis, then they'll employ her. It's not really about being "better", it's about providing a particular image for the broadcast.

I don't like it, but then I don't like the music when a boundary is hit either. I'll watch cricket anyway, so it's not really aimed at me.
 

Mermaidman

Cricket Spectator
:laugh: yea that was funny

and when they were talking about tasmanians :laugh: :laugh:
yeah I forgot about the Tasmanians :laugh:. You always get great value from Bumble, I remember when Daren Powel bowled Alastair Cook I think and he screamed "FULL PINT" as in a flat beer :laugh:
 
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Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I haven't got any problem with the concept of having a woman in the commentary box, but Donna Williams is just awful, even if she is trying to expand the market to the masses. Cass Naido, somebody who knows a little something about cricket, could've done a much better job, because she doesn't repeat herself several times without making a point.
 

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