mark nicholas is the worst. i can get behind having people who are wrong to be angry at for their terrible opinions (chappell, warne), but i haaaaate nicholas's mix of bias and patronising, greasy head pats to the opposition.
of the new box mark waugh and shane warne stand out, in a bad way.
to review our lot
ian smith - a national treasure, hopelessly emotional and often incoherent but his passion for the game oozes from every roll. he also manages to commentate with genuine empathy for all players on the field. the only thing he needs to do better is fight back better when surrounded by chumps like warne and co.
simon doull- a traitor to his nation during the wc semi, cheerleading india with the rest of the bent comms desperately guzzling *** for an ipl gig. puts on a stupid accent when he wants to sound sophisticated. is known to be a very interesting human in his home town. occassionally makes a decent point, and is a very interesting bowling analyst.
mark richardson - his tory ravings and wannabe mike hosking personality are leaking into his cricket commentary which is a shame because the appeal of his commentary in the early days was how happy and enthusiastic he was despite often being a sarcastic bastard. he needs to quit his newshub gig so he can go back to saying words that make sense rather than shilling for boomers.
scott styris - chill, insightful and steady. has made a good start to his commentary career.
craig cumming - probably the most often correct commentator of the nz box and he mixes it with a chill demeanor and empathy for the players, but his strong accent will prevent him from obtaining overseas gigs and im not sure he even wants them. is a subtle troll, and still refers to the nz trio as 'wagner, boult and southee'. he also engages with the female comms the most and has the most 'equal' conversations, which is a nice change from the likes of doull pretending they don't exist.
kyle mills - he's reasonable but he's hampered by having a boring voice that is also hard to distinguish from the voice of james franklin.
debbie hockley and the other female comms - honestly they need to settle on a couple of comms rather than rotating them through. hockley has been there for several years now and tbh she is fine, if lacking in both confidence and piercing insight. it's good sky are trying to diversify but i think they should bring in pro female talent with broadcasting gigs rather than ex-players. the male ex-players are usually bad enough, and the women can't be expected to be any better plus have the added pressure of being 'the woman' in the booth.
grant nisbett - a voice of new zealand sport, a national treasure who is an absolute professional and a good caller of the play by play despite rugby being his specialty. not a big analyser due to being a pro broadcaster but what he does he does really well.
