Best Commentator

[dizzy92]

i don't have a favourite but i hate mark nicholas

 

[harishankar]

Sunil Gavaskar is another who always annoys me with commentary style, but I do appreciate the fact that he doesn't use an artificial accent and doesn't speak in a wishy-washy manner. He always speaks his mind boldly.

Ditto with Ravi Shastri.

I'll rate some Indian commentators on several factors. It will be interesting to see how many agree and disagree (rating is purely subjective of course):

Rating factors:

Style: Articulation, diction, vocubulary, pronunciation and overall voice quality and modulation.

Content/Interest generated: relevance, grasp of situation, being on point, humour/lack of humour and chemistry with fellow commentators.

Knowledge: Depth of analysis, ability to read situations, understanding of the game and player psychology.

Overall: Quality of the total package as a commentator

Annoyance factor: Degree of wear and tear caused on viewers (or) getting viewers to get annoyed or tired of the commentary over a period.


Sunil Gavaskar
Style: 4/10
Content/Interest generated: 3/10
Knowledge: 8/10
Overall: 6/10
Annoyance factor: Medium

Ravi Shastri
Style: 8/10
Content/Interest generated: 7/10
Knowledge: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Annoyance factor: Low

Harsha Bhogle
Style: 5/10
Content/Interest generated: 6/10
Knowlegde: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Annoyance factor: Medium-high

Arun Lal
Style: 5/10
Content/Interest generated: 4/10
Knowledge: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
Annoyance factor: Medium

L.Sivaramakrishnan
Style: 3/10
Content/Interest generated: 3/10
Knowledge: 5/10
Overall: 4/10
Annoyance factor: High

Sanjay Manjrekar
Style: 5/10
Content/Interest generated: 5/10
Knowledge: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Annoyance factor: Medium-high

Maninder Singh
Style: 3/10
Content/Interest generated: 3/10
Knowledge: 5/10
Overall: 4/10
Annoyance factor: Medium

Navjot Sidhu* (* past commentator, don't know whether he'll return)
Style: 6/10
Content/Interest generated: 6/10
Knowledge: 3/10
Overall: 4/10
Annoyance factor: High

Javagal Srinath* (* to be fair, don't know whether he'll pursue commentary in future)
Style: 4/10
Content/Interest generated: 6/10
Knowledge: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Annoyance factor: Medium-low

Venkatesh Prasad* (* to be fair he's not a regular commentator)
Style: 0/10
Content/Interest generated: 0/10
Knowledge: 2/10
Overall: 1/10
Annoyance factor: High

Charu Sharma* (* to be fair, only seen regularly on DD Fourth Umpire and SET MAX)
Style: 5/10
Content/Interest generated: 2/10
Knowledge: 4/10
Overall: 3/10
Annoyance factor: High

Kris Srikkanth * (* to be fair, only seen regularly on DD Fourth Umpire )
Style: 3/10
Content/Interest generated: 5/10
Knowledge: 6/10
Overall: 4/10
Annoyance factor: High

Mohinder Amarnath
Style: 3/10
Content/Interest generated: 5/10
Knowledge: 8/10
Overall: 6/10
Annoyance factor: Medium-low

Atul Wassan * (* to be fair, only seen regularly on DD Fourth Umpire )
Style: 6/10
Content/interest generated: 4/10
Knowledge: 5/10
Overall: 4/10
Annoyance factor: Low

 

[Manohar]

Ravi Shastri
Style: 8/10
Content/Interest generated: 7/10
Knowledge: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Annoyance factor: Low

To me a good commentator is one who has credibility and who does not show unusual bias to either team or to certain players even though he is from a particular country or region. Having played cricket at high level and have achieved results gives credibility. People like Barry Richards, Michael Holding, Ian Chappell, Sunil Gavaskar, David Gower and others could fall in this category even though one may disagree with them or may not like their style. They could speak their mind to the chagrin of some.

The problem with Ravi Shastri is even though he is good cricketer he is not one of the greatest. Also often times I felt that he is promoting one Indian cricketer over the other during his commentary and interjecting himself in the selection of the Indian team even though he is not a selector. Since he is also the Vice Chairman of the Showdiff Worldwide (a celebrity management company promoting cricketers among others) sometimes one wonder if there was any conflict of interest. When Pakistan was visiting India last time, I felt that he was promoting Agarkar and others while trying to get Laxman out of the team. He may be right or wrong but using the commentary box to influence team selection does not suggest that he is always fair and balanced (Fox News Logo!) in his commentary.

 

[BigCrickNan]

I agree Nasser Hussain is a good thinking commentator.Geoff Boycott is being missed.

Nasser and Boycott would be an amazing pair! Nasser analyses everything really well, and Boycott laughs at the opposition. (England's opposition)

 

[Manohar]

According to me,
Best four would be:
1) Geoffrey Boycott
2) Tony Grieg
3) Sunil Gavaskar
4) Harsha Bhogle

Tony Grieg used to sound as a fair and balanced commentator but something changed during the last time India visited Australia. During the beginning of the series he was arguing with Bill Lawry in favor of India. But from the next test or so he seemed to be totally biased against India to the extent that Bill Lawry was more fair in his commentary compared to him. I guess someone reminded him who is paying his salary (was it Channel 9). I have not heard him since then and I do not know where his loyalty lie now. As a commentator he should be fair not biased to one side or the other.

 

[flash46]

this short list is compiled regardless of whether or not the commentator is currently working steadily:

BEST---1. Mike Haysman--best commentator and best voice in ANY sport!!!
2. Ravi Shastri---most knowledgable.
3. Robin Jackman---no B.S.
4. Ian Botham---ditto
5. Richie Benaud---the Vin Scully of Cricket (yes, I'm an American!)

WORST---1. Tony Greig---fat, bald, idiot.

 

[evertonfan]

9 days too late but what the hell!

Best:
1)David Lloyd
2)Dean Jones
3)Tony Creig
4)Ian Botham
5)Nasser Hussain
6)Mike Haysman
7)Micheal Holding
8)Alan Donalld
9)Bill Lawry
10)Ian Healy

Worst:
1)Mark Nicholas (ANNOYING!!!!!! He is in love with every single shot and delivery!!!)
2)Bob Willis (does he like anything?)
3)Aravinda Da Silva (Damn boring voice! Heard him for the first time at Lord's, and I honestly dozed off, and it wasn't on Sunday either, it was during Pietersen's innings!)
4)Tony Cozier
5)Javagal Srinath
6)Don't know his name, but he is a Pakistan commentor who is REALLY biased towards Pakistan.
7)Johnathan Agnew
8)Geoffrey Boycott
9)Mark Nicholas
10)Mark Nicholas

 

[darick]

Well, they don't call Richie Benaud 'The Voice of Cricket' for nothing. He stands as my favourite commentator. My least favourite commentator would be Bill Lawry, because he is both irritating (with that stupid voice of his) and biased. Some of those NZ, SA and ENG commentators are also pretty bad, in my opinion.

 

[Rodders]

David 'bumble' Lloyd has to be up there.

and as for Willis, he is extremely boring, but he does come out with some funny stuff too.

But the one who wins it is Richie Benaud. The voice of Cricket :hpraise

 

[Iron-Haggis]

The best commentators are Richie Benuad and Michael Holding. It's gonna be a sad day for Australian cricket when Richie retires from commentary. Michael Slater's commentary is pretty good too.

The worst commentators are Ian Chappell, he thinks he is some sort of psychic who can read everyones mind. And Tony Grieg, the guy cannot commentate without any biased, I think he is confused as to whether he is South African, English or Australian.

 

[Skater]

I think the best commentator is Richie Benaud for his accuracy and knowledge, but I also like Jonathan Agnew for his descriptive skills and knowledge. I was enduring a car journey for the entirity of the fourth day of the second test match between England and Sri Lanka and his commentary, along with his colleagues, on Test Match Special made it easy to sit through. I intend on listening to his commentary on the journey to my cricket practice session this evening too.

 

[wolf]

In my opinion Geoffrey Boycott is by miles the best commentater - he talks so much sense!

 

[A_Whitey]

He tells it like it is.

Benaud
Boycott
Agnew

in that order for me.

 

[IanG]

Tony Greig is the pits. He's just so anti Australia. What is his problem especially after everything Australia has given him over year after England dumped him on the scrap heap and made his life a living misreable hell when he defected to World Series Cricket.

 

[IloveGilly]

He's also biased towards South Africa at times. But my favorite would be Mark Taylor, he actually knows what he talks about and can commentate pretty well.