damianAus v WI 2nd test - ch. 9 commentary scorecard
December 8th 2009 10:16
Richie Benaud - 10
In the midst of the Tiger Woods sex scandal, Richie Benaud stuck to his A-game in this test. Adhering to the age-old unwritten commentary team pact that what Tony Greig does after hours in his hotel room is strictly a private matter, Benaud brought some much-needed dignity back to the sports media arena.
Michael Slater - 9
Slats' enthusiasm continues to win the hearts of the punters and he has been very public in offering Tiger Woods a shoulder to cry on in a difficult time. Sources close to the commentary team suggested that he really was just after a few phone numbers, but Slater refused to confirm or deny this, pointing to Craig McDermott as living proof of the fact that ex-cricketers did not generally get mixed up in this sort of thing and led quiet lives out of the spotlight.
Bill Lawry - 8
Lawry's largely bland commentary nonetheless provided the odd moment of Brilliance, such as this exchange with Benaud after correctly identifying some species of bird in the surrounds of the Adelaide oval:
Lawry (on one bird that was prominently displaying its tail feathers) : "That one's just showing off!"
Benaud: "what makes you say that?"
Lawry: "Have a close look, Rich!"
Tony Greig - 5
Greig's pitch report was once again way off the mark: "I predict it'll go right down to the wire" was his pre-match statement. The match was called off 6 overs early, completely destroying Grieg's credibility.
Mark Taylor - 5
Taylor has often been described as having an excellent cricket brain. Somewhere between brain and mouth, things seem to go horribly pear shaped for the former skipper.
Ian Healy - 2
Having been groomed for TV early through a guest appearance on Burke's Backyard, David Gyngell originally had Healy Pencilled into replace the great man, with the show to be renamed "Heals' Backyard" Unfortunately, after media preview screenings of the pilot, this idea had to be ditched once certain unkind journalists began referring to the show as "Heals' Backside". With few options available to them, the Channel 9 bosses at first wanted to put him on 'Farmer Wants a Wife', but eventually settled on the cricket commentary so he could be heard but not seen.
Ian Chappell - 1
The only one of the Chappell Brothers not to be involved in the underarm incident, Ian's lack of imagination remains with him to this day, where he maintains a strictly 'overarm' approach to his commentary, rendering it devoid of any humour, except when the producers forget to turn his mic off during ad breaks and the viewer is treated to a profanity-laden explanation of exactly how he would win the game if he were captain.
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