Cricket on Sky should get rid of the jokers
February 23rd, 2008, 5:21 am Hobbies News
Ive lost count of the number of people who have said to me lately that they can hardly bear to watch coverage of the New Zealand teams matches because of the sub-standard efforts of the commentators.
Sky Television and New Zealand Cricket are in an %26quot;Ill scratch your back%26quot; partnership, but what the commentators are doing hardly passes for promoting cricket.
Ian Smith remains exempt from criticism.
He is an international-class commentator who mixes astute observations with enough humour to keep his work lively and entertaining.
But Martin Crowe, Simon Doull and Mark Richardson are in dire need of some decent guidance.
Their commentaries have become so banal, self-serving and childish as to be irritating.
Who is responsible for the production of Skys cricket coverage? I know Crowe has a hand in it, but perhaps theres some power above him setting the tone.
Crowe, Doull and Richardson have good knowledge, but all seem more intent on being funny, with their tiresome in-jokes, than providing quality work. Egos are running rampant.
When Doull told us the other day he couldnt care less about England, he should have been taken aside and told to be more professional. He is supposed to be commentating an international match, not just one side.
Crowe is constantly childish. He decided that Ryan Sidebottom would have %26quot;a sore bottom%26quot; after a mistake on the field, and thought it was so funny he repeated the joke for those who missed it first time around.
Richardson is selling himself short. He is a canny observer of cricket (and of sport in general to judge by his comments on The Crowd Goes Wild), but does not do himself justice because he seems to believe that he has to reduce everything to a joke.
The constant guffawing in the commentary box is annoying to viewers.
Its time the commentators stopped repeatedly alluding to their playing days %26mdash; how often do we have to hear jokes about Richardson being a slow scorer? %26mdash; and progressed to a more professional standard of work.
Also annoying is the commentary teams repeated mention of Samsung, which, I take it, is a sponsor.
You dont hear the English commentators acting like kids when they are behind the microphone, either in England or in their guest spots in New Zealand.
The Australian Channel Nine team is not perfect, but they have a degree of professionalism thats sadly missing here.
What really makes me shake my head is that since Crowe got involved in the Sky production, Glenn Turner, John Morrison and Jeremy Coney have been cast adrift.
Id rather listen to that trio than the rubbish that is being served up now.
Presumably Scott Styris and Stephen Fleming will soon join the Sky commentary team. Both have already done stints.
Styris unfortunately seems to fit in with some of the other clowns in the commentary box.
Fleming, who commentated a Twenty20 match this month, was outstanding, bringing a serious tone and rare insight to his work.
Lets hope that he stays true to himself and that Crowe and company follow his example.
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