Michael Vaughan joined in with Nicholas and clarke in the commentary box. I thought he will be doing Both Nine and Ten this summer
He is. He commentated for Nine on the Perth Test too from memory. Canāt recall if he was involved with them for the first two. Busy man, given he also has BT Sport and BBC commitments but they will all be close together.
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Mitch Starc commentated the game alongside with Healy, Slater. Starc is injured and is replaced by Jackson Bird.
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The build-up coverage to day two looks terrible this morning in the middle of the MCG with no one in it (perhaps not open yet?). Would be better from a studio inside the ground or somewhere public outside the ground with a few more punters
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Tim Lane just said on radio the crowd is building half an hour before play.
Was the pre-game recorded? Or did gates just open at 10am? MCC reserve is usually first to open, with those giant queues back up the hill towards the Hilton Hotel, but arrived at ~9:45am yesterday and got straight in (albeit security check queue).
It possibly was pre-recordedā¦certainly empty around 9:45 when I watched it until the top of the hour.
Yes. Most of the presenter-based stuff shown from the centre of the ground is pre-recorded. When watching via ESPN Indiaās livestream, I can see them doing the pre-records (the ESPN India livestream doesnāt include ads, so thereās just a feed from an overhead cam or one of the roving cameras), and then 15+ minutes later the package being shown on air.
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Loving Bill Lawry, didnāt get hear him yesterday.
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By the way, you canāt see it on TV, but that bloody spider-cam they use at the MCG (connected to wires on towers on the roof) is a disgrace.
IMO thereās better options (different camera heights, angles, drones, chopper) instead.
Iāve always sworn itāll probably drop on and kill a player one day. Itās also very distracting as spectators, often yesterday I saw it taken to the surface substituting a normal cameraman in frot of commentators 
Itās the cheapest option by far, every camera added to the production has a cost. Drones have a very limited battery life and usually require two people to operate it, also they are very restricted as to where they can be flown. Helicopters are very expensive. The spider cam is flexible in use and a lot safer and more reliable than a drone will ever be.
I really donāt think spectator distraction is a consideration to the broadcaster.
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Iāve always liked Richie Benaud, because he said very little during play, unless there was an possible wicket. Thatās why he was so good. Mark Nicholas is likely the best ball by ball guy these days on TV.
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Look, honestly heās alright but I find him a bit boring, heās the least well known.
How does that make a difference?
Heās not bad in comparison to the other fuckwits in the box.
āLeast well knownā is utterly meaningless when heās been fronting the FTA coverage of the countryās top sport for over a decade.
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I just mean if anyone likes commentary, they probably arenāt tuning-in for him.
Canāt stand Slater or Taylor.
Tennis Australia PR would like to debate that with you 
How did I know this post was coming. 
Two weeks do not make a year. Itās more concentrated, which has its benefits of course but Cricketās consistency over a period of time (November-late Feb) has it beat.
That and tennis being pretty much irrelevant to the wider Australian public for the remaining 48 weeks of the year (minus Wimbledon) doesnāt help. And this is coming from a tennis die-hard!
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Would have nothing to do with itās main tournament being on 7 and based in Melbourne would it?
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I have many sports ahead of Tennis.
Hence the winky face folks, friendly banter.
Iām sure each are to their own, regardless of public perception when it comes to Australiaās way too many sport codes / events.
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Something else I forgot to mention, when walking along the MCG concourse to my gate on Boxing Day, I was behind two Police officers for a period.
One of which was a Deputy Commissioner (thereās only 3 I believe) - it was Andrew Crisp. I wonder what he was doing there, didnāt see any pressers, bizarre seeing such top brass there. He also was carrying a firearm, never seen that from an executive rank before. His hat and high-vis were also different. He was flanked by a Sergeant, probably from his office, who had a special arm cuff pattern, possibly signifying he was acting as security or bodyguard?
I attend the test match every year and itās never annoyed or distracted me, maybe youāre just looking for it.
Spidercam is the only real innovation thatās come to the Nine broadcast in years and years. The sooner Ten gets the rights and the boys club ends the better.
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Agreed. Itās time that Ten grabbed the rights. At least they know how to do cricket, unlike Nine who made cricket boring.
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