Favourite commentary lines

[Howe_zat]

someone must've slipped richard some shrooms to make him quit cw

apparently he found god.

 

[marc71178]

apparently he found god.

Then no doubt proceeded to tell him how he was wrong...

 

[cnerd123]

someone must've slipped richard some shrooms to make him quit cw

apparently he found god.

Same thing

 

[Adders]

Haven't read back through this thread so this has probably been mentioned (in fact seeing as GIMH started it he almost certainly would have)..........

"Cometh the hour, cometh the man"

 

[Biryani Pillow]

The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey

Took surprisingly long for this myth to appear. Never said on commentary.

A few John Arlott observations.

On the 1948/49 England Tour of SA his end of day report to BBC radio (no live commentary) got to the dismissal of Norman Mann (SA SLA bowler) who was caught by Frank Mann - the England captain ; "providing a classic example of Mann's inhumanity to Mann!"

Ones I actually heard include him on Clive Lloyd hitting a 4 in the first World Cup Final "....... like a man flicking the top off a piece of heather with his walking cane."

And his closing comments on the first streaker (he called it a 'freaker' at Lords: "It's masculine............. not very pretty............... and has probably seen his last cricket for the day!"

I've been told of one that may, or may not, be true. Late in the day of a county game a fellow commentator announced "......... and as the sun sets slowly in the west.......... your next commentator will be John Arlott."
John came on with "And be assured, if the sun sets anywhere BUT in the west I shall be the first to tell you."

I think my favourite Benaud was in the 1981 Ashes.

After Headingley the home crowd was rather excitable. On the Saturday evening of the next Test England had completed the 3rd innings of the match, leaving Australia only 150 odd to win and there was less than an hour left in the day's play. The England bowlers came in at full tilt with a baying crowd roaring them on.

In time, Chris Old bowled Graeme Wood.

The crowd explodes. The England team congratulate Old as the cheering (to put it mildly) continues unabated for at least 3 minutes. The next batsman comes in, the England team disperse, the batsman takes guard and Old goes to the end of his run. Finally the crowd goes quiet. Richie hasn't said a word at this point for about 4 minutes.

He then speaks.

"Lions 1 Christians 0."

He also had the wonderfully succinct offering at the end f the 2nd Test in 2005:

"Kasprowicz......................... Jones.............................................................. Bowden...... .........................................Out!"

 

[Gnske]

Every minute of the 2013/14 Ashes tests when Warnie came on to deliver his pizza and salad anecdote.

Such a master of the yarn

 

[wpdavid]

You'll have to forgive me not checking the previous pages, but has anyone mentioned John Arlott's description of The NZ bowler Cunis ' 'like his name, his bowling was neither one thing nor the other'.