Great Commentators of the past — ABC commentary team
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Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, Keith Stackpole, Ian Chappell, Tony Greig, Max Walker, et al
WC 1983 gave us glimpses of the commentary team’s power in driving the interest among the masses. With the live coverage that was beamed directly into our homes, we understood the art of commenting — they understood the difference between audio and visual medium, paused at the appropriate moment, and more importantly engaged a cricket buff like me with technical details. A couple of examples:
1. Why Roger binny’s swings were effective — Richie mentioned that his back foot was not normally placed but at a skewed angle towards mid-on, this gives an extra shift in his spine and he was able to get both types of swing easily.
2. why Maninder’s arm balls were effective than Shastri — Maninder’s front leg was facing the third arm, hence a better rotation and disguised arm ball compared to other
Later years, while commenting in India, Tony went overboard. They changed the art of commenting. Slowly, BCCI realized the power and replaced the old group.
Who can forget the nasal excited scream of Bill Lawry — Oh dear, Oh dear; It’s all happening out there.
