Favorite Cricket Commentator: Cricinfo Poll Results

Cricinfo (now part of ESPN) released the results of the "favorite cricket commentator" poll today.

Results:

1. "Favorite commentator": 1. Harsha Bhogle 2. Ravi Shastri 3. Richie Benaud
2. "Most Entertaining": 1. Tony Greig 2. Geoff Boycott 3. David Lloyd
3. "Most Unbiased": 1. Richie Benaud 2. Harsha Bhogle 3. Ravi Shastri
4. "Most Insightful": 1. Ian Chappell 2. Richie Benaud 3. Harsha Bhogle

As with any poll/survey, the sample population, mostly Indians, seems to have heavily influenced the results. This is evident from the fact that Bhogle was most people's favorite commentator and someone like Tony Cozier, who has less exposure to Indian audiences failed to even get a mention. Harsha is by far the best Indian commentator, light years ahead of Sunil Gavaskar and it is good to see him recognized for this services.

It is however not surprising to see the Channel 9 team score heavily in this poll since it is by far the best commentating team in the history of cricket broadcasting.

Led by the impeccable Richie Benaud, the almost tyrannical Commentary Team Captain and the father of television cricket commentating, with a penchant for "cream, bone, white, off-white, ivory or beige" jackets and the uncanny knack of conveying more through less, the team has the perfect mix of analysts and entertainers that every commentary team should poseess.

Tony Grieg is the master entertainer whose high decibel screams and thick bass voice adds value to any cricketing action while Bill Lawry, Tony's nemesis and keen pigeon fancier, is a man with an unusually large nose (as a result of a childhood bout with "proboscitis"), has a tendency to declare all batsmen out regardless of the actual result and an abiding and one-eyed love of the state of Victoria, Merv Hughes, leg-spinner Shane Warne and Australia (which he pronounces "Straya"). Ian Chappell is quite the calming influence on this team and provides the most insightful analysis on a game situation like no one else. One of the best captains ever, Ian often speaks ahead of the game and remains my favorite commentator.

While additions like Mark Taylor and Ian Healy (the worst commentator ever, along with Ranjith Fernando) have diluted the quality a bit, the fab four have been holding their ground since the inception of the team in 1980.

Fast and Furious...

...two adjectives that would aptly describe the recently concluded 20/20 Cricket World Cup. Some might say "too fast, too furious", but I think the speed was just about right. This was the best cricket tournament since '99 World Cup - the last such one where at least 2 other teams (SA & Pak) were as good as the Aussies before the men in gold and green surged ahead to leave the rest of the world languishing in doldrums.

It is a common business transformation strategy to change a company's focus from its products and revenue to its consumers and many leading companies have turned around losing businesses by successfully implementing it. Cricket over the last 10 years had become a game run by lawyers/politicians for lawyers/politicians with focus on its product (ODIs) and revenue (broadcasting revenue). Along the way the needs and pulse of the consumer was forgotten. While on the verge of alienating the fans from the game, serendipitously or not, the ICC has just implemented one such successful transformation.

Despite numerous experts questioning the purity of the concept (Articles 1, 2 & 3), I am convinced that the game has received the perfect dose of caffeine to keep it going. While it definitely doesn't tamper with the purity and position of the more pristine form of the game that is test cricket, it certainly marks the beginning of the end of the 50 over game and nothing highlighted that more than the contrasting nature of the two world cups staged over the last 6 months - one whose winner was obvious 4 years before it started and the other whose winner was unknown until the last 4 balls were bowled!

While the purists correctly argue that test cricket is the true test of skills, truly close contests of the highest quality are too far and few in between to attract anyone but purists to the game. Over the last 10 years there have been only 2 mindblowing test series (Aus vs. India 2001 & Aus vs. Eng 2005) to satisfy the non-purist. Steve Waugh and his fearless Aussies revolutionized the game by scoring at an unheard of rate of 4 an over in tests, but few other teams could consistently match them to make things interesting. Arguably, the shorter version levels the field for a more even contest where ephemeral brilliance rather than sustained genius is sufficient to win games. But in doing so, it has unearthed the the key to closer contests and tighter finishes that has become a rarity in the game. Also, the average cricket fan does not have 5 days to watch the game in stadiums and appreciate the purity of the game. He prefers the luxury of Cricinfo to give him the executive summary. 20/20 has truly brought the fan back to the grounds.

And finally, to critics who site that the version may not produce a Sachin or a Lara, the counter argument is that Sachins and Laras are supreme talents that will show up and shine irrespective of the format of the game. It might be worthwhile to remember that SRT first announced his talent to the cricket world by taking the life out of Abdul Qadir (described by none other than Viv Richards as the toughest bowler he had faced) in an exhibition match in Pakistan before he went on to greater deeds and bigger stages. Hence the argument is moot.

Twenty Twenty is victory for the cricket consumer and hence I rest my case!