Best(current) commentators

[SeamUp]

Sky should offer Ricky Ponting a name your own price contract. His presence has highlighted what a bunch of nimrods the rest of them are.

Really ?

Hussain and Atherton are my two favourite commentators despite my total irritation for Atherton as a player and his whole personality by the looks of things.

Botham should retire. He adds nothing anymore really. No real detail. Mikey is Mikey and I appreciate his views (even the old school ones).

Agree on Ricky though. Lots of respect.

 

[morgieb]

Sky should offer Ricky Ponting a name your own price contract. His presence has highlighted what a bunch of nimrods the rest of them are.

He's remarkably good, isn't he. I've only really heard him do BBL before this (mostly watched Fox last summer) and while his knowledge stood out then, he's a class above even in a good commentary box. If Benaud is the Bradman of commentary, then Ponting is the Smith.

 

[morgieb]

In any case, I think the best two around today are Ponting and Bishop. Nasser and Atherton still very good, Guha's a star (though oddly seems better in a 3 person box than 2), O'Keefe is awesome when he's not trying to be a comedian. I used to rate Holding but I think he seems a bit past it. Ian Smith is a very Lawry-esque commentator - usually meh but when things get tight he's a gun.

Don't really rate any of the Sky box that aren't Hussain/Atherton/Guha, Fox is mostly fine but doesn't really stand out, SuperSport is OK but kinda boring, most of the subcontential commentators tend to be **** (though oddly I love Waqar for some reason). Sky NZ again doesn't seem to make too much of an impression of me.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I don't like Hussain. He sounds like he should be down the market trying to sell cheap Romanian watches to the tourists. I don't like the Sky Third Man feature in the commentary box. They often feel obliged to come up with something and it's often completely spurious and you end up with David Lloyd saying "6 and a half metres" on an endless loop.

 

[GIMH]

Ponting has been class.

I still enjoy Nasser and Athers.

I don't hate Warne as much as some but he's not as funny as he thinks he is. He should be barred from commentating in the third innings or any other time you might see a declaration.

 

[OverratedSanity]

Bishop, Ponting, Hussain, Atherton, Ian Smith, Okeefe, Agnew, Boycott, Chappelli are all good in their own ways. Harsha and Warne are actually decent at what they do and certainly nowhere near as bad as people want to make them out to be, just a bit annoying at times. Guha, Holding, Sanga highly overrated.

 

[MrPrez]

I really like Pommy Mbangwa, although I know lots don't. I think he's fantastic to have alongside a more excitable commentator.

 

[SeamUp]

I really like Pommy Mbangwa, although I know lots don't. I think he's fantastic to have alongside a more excitable commentator.

For me he is a spectacle commentator. Class him with Bill Lawry, Tony Greig, Ian Smith, Navjot Singh Sidhu & Bumble Lloyd category. Not bad and you go along with them. They excitable.

Shaun Pollock & Graeme Smith my favourite SA comms now.

Used to respect Kepler but he is very much Ian Chappell type isn't he. Can understand why some wouldn't like. But he is no longer a commentator anymore.

Mikey Haysman...

 

[anil1405]

I really like Pommy Mbangwa, although I know lots don't. I think he's fantastic to have alongside a more excitable commentator.

He is amazing man. Him and Bishop, two commentators who stand out among the average lot.

 

[vcs]

Mike "I yell in my monotone voice when something exciting happens" Haysman is awful.

 

[Flem274*]

ian bishop is the best in the world followed by ponting.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Fazeer Mohammed is one of best non-ex cricketer commentators around in the region (Caribbean). Tony Cozier was the boss though...Give a shout out to Reds Perreira

 

[SeamUp]

Looks like there are rumours Botham is retiring from comm work which is the right decision. Recent years he hasnt been adding much value.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

Looks like there are rumours Botham is retiring from comm work which is the right decision. Recent years he hasnt been adding much value.

And he's been coming into the comm box with not professionally attired.

Thinking that he's Viv

 

[morgieb]

Bishop, Ponting, Hussain, Atherton, Ian Smith, Okeefe, Agnew, Boycott, Chappelli are all good in their own ways. Harsha and Warne are actually decent at what they do and certainly nowhere near as bad as people want to make them out to be, just a bit annoying at times. Guha, Holding, Sanga highly overrated.

With Warne I think he's gotten a bit better since he left 9. Still often annoying but nowhere near as excruiating as he was. Agree that Harsha's usually pretty good.

Sanga started off pretty good but he's moved in a Clarke-esque direction rather quickly.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

With Warne I think he's gotten a bit better since he left 9. Still often annoying but nowhere near as excruiating as he was. Agree that Harsha's usually pretty good.

Sanga started off pretty good but he's moved in a Clarke-esque direction rather quickly.

He's better off coaching. His wicketkeeping clinic during a rain day at Lord's was so so good.

 

[FBU]

Radio and tv - watch on SKY while listening to TMS - like hearing what happens a few seconds before seeing it.

Like Atherton, Hussain, Coney, Marks, Mann, Mitchell Johnson, Vaughan, Agnew, Ponting, Dagnall
Don't like Guha, Amy Jones, Flintoff, Bumble, Pietersen, Swann, Tufnell, Boycott.

 

[shashy]

Good: Bishop, Lawry, Hussain, Ponting, Bumble, Ian Smith, Slater, Karthik

Fair: Nicholas, Taylor, Chappelli, Ganguly, Mbangwa, Gavaskar, Guha, Boycott

Awful: Bhogle, Manjrekar, Atherton, Swann, Sanga, Healy

Bishop the best, Manjrekar the worst.

 

[Athlai]

Good: Bishop, Lawry, Hussain, Ponting, Bumble, Ian Smith, Slater, Karthik

Fair: Nicholas, Taylor, Chappelli, Ganguly, Mbangwa, Gavaskar, Guha, Boycott

Awful: Bhogle, Manjrekar, Atherton, Swann, Sanga, Healy

Bishop the best, Manjrekar the worst.

This is a pretty good list. Though I'd probably move Sanga and Athers up to fair and Ponting, Karthik, Bumble down to fair. Healy probably deserves a conditional "fair" in a similar way that Smith can sometimes be bloody excellent but is generally just alright.

 

[vcs]

I kind of miss Ravi Shastri's commentary. Does that make me a terrible person?