And seeing some more female involvement in the coverage would be good… it has been waaay too blokey for too long.
I would like to see an Yvonne Sampson type (who does very well on Nine’s NRL coverage) on the game coverage.
Do you mean hosting the coverage (ie Mark Nicholas and before him Richie) or actually commentating the game. Yvonne doesn’t commentate.
I’d rather a female commentator working full time on all coverage. Any there any recently retired female cricketers who can commentate (Lisa Sthalekar or Melanie Jones from the IPL?)
I and plenty of my mates like JB. And slater going off topic brings colour to the commentary. ABC doesn’t just talk cricket during the coverage they talk about different things and stories too. As I have said before if you don’t like it, no one is holding a gun to your head, change the channel, don’t watch or press the mute button.
Also I would rather have this commentary team over the 7tennis team any day. At least nine talk, unlike seven who can go for three points without saying a word.
That’s a first!! Me & my mates cannot stand Brayshaw!! Remember when he and Slater dressed up in fancy dress WTF!!! It’s the cricket!!!
I’m not going to change the channel because I want to watch the cricket!!! I shouldn’t have to mute the TV either!!!
As for tennis, tennis is a completely different sport, and, sometimes it is appropriate to not speak.
Is it to hard to ask the 9 commentry team to just calm down, stop with the constant laughing and stay on topic (not run a poll on favourite pizza - they spent 4 overs talking about pizza!!)
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Tens team talk about other things but they talk cricket and have a laugh. It’s refreshing. Ponting is the best analyst in the business. Fleming is great with his bowlogist sayings etc. gilchrist is annoying though.especially when he hosts or does the play by play.
They aren’t as annoying as fuck as Taylor, Slater, Healey, Brayshaw. Nine need a complete overhaul. Problem is they’ve been doing it for so long that they can’t innovate. Like with rugby league. Pathetic coverage. They’ve become so complacent. Hopefully they don’t get any cricket rights when the new deal happens. Will be good to have someone else give it a go.
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Can’t Ten use someone like Quartermain? he’d be better than Gilchrist in being the host or play by play guy.
I remember Yvonne was definitely part of the coverage last year doing in a ‘roving reporter’ role for selected tests. Agree with your overall premise though.
Don’t think either could work full time on the coverage since they’re involved in Ten’s coverage of the WBBL.
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The last thing Nine should do is copy Ten with their play by play guy.
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Aside from you I haven’t heard many complaints of the play by play format.
I don’t particularly like Howard or Maher either but I’m not against the play by play format with two analysts.
Incidentally… ABC grandstand and 2UE/3AW use play by play callers for their coverage. Tim Lane and Jim Maxwell and Glenn Mitchell etc never played professional cricket and they do a good job as play by play callers.
On radio, play by play is necessary. unnessary on on tv imo.
I watch a fair bit of overseas cricket; the cretinous, low-brow coverage we must endure on 9 has no peer. I enjoyed Brian Murgatroyd’s commentary in the recent series against Sri Lanka; someone like that would be like a southerly change after a 40C day. The uber-partisan (Aussie Aussie Aussie) nature of the coverage is also grating, especially when compared with the ABC’s radio coverage.
I agree that Shane Warne is the best of the bunch by a distance: a bogan in every other sense, but his tactical knowledge of the game is on point.
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Although unlikely, hopefully Nine will finally decide to get some commentators from South Africa for the upcoming series. I remember reading back in 2014, during the ODI series vs South Africa, Nine rejected (I think) Shaun Pollock who offered to commentate with them for free.
I don’t really understand Nines obsession with Brayshaw. I have always found him irritating.
Nine (and Seven when they had a South African tour) used Dennis Commetti for some domestic one dayers when he was working for them in Perth and back when ABC was still doing the regional test broadcasts they had the likes of Drew Morphett, Graham Dawson, Norman May and Commetti again etc doing commentary with expert comments.
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Yes I remember Dennis doing play by play when seven telecast the South African tour in the 90s. He was quite good.
Play by play callers are good as they will cut out the boys club shit talk that the dribblers at nine do. The level of irritation derived from the nine team is quite widespread across the nation. They are well hated.
With the passing of Ritchie and Bill Lawry making rare appearances, nine are a shadow of the their former selves when it comes to a cricket broadcast.
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Bill only did the MCG and SCG test’s last year if I recall correctly. Hopefully he can also do the Hobart one this year.
It’s my understanding that Nine wouldn’t have had to pay him cause he would’ve been getting paid by Super Sport South Africa.
Is it any wonder that Sky UK and ESPN Star send their own commentary teams to Australia so they aren’t subjected to it. Not to mention that constant plugs for upcoming programming (Mind you Nine aren’t the only ones guilty of that)
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All depends on if he’s up to it. Apparently his wife hasn’t been in the best of health in recent years so he’s made home a priority. Have to remember Bill is nearly 80
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I believe they do it freelance.
Also watching the Womens T20s last year on both networks. I’d go as far as to say thr commentary on those was far superior.
Working for different masters. I noticed it too during the World Cup. The Channel 9 guys were far more measured.
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