The Cricket Was Great, But There Was Something Missing

I was watching the World Test Championship final between New Zealand and India a couple of weeks ago (congratulations to New Zealand on their big win by the way). The standard of cricket on display was very high, as was expected from the best two teams in the world, but despite all of this there was something gnawing away at the back of my mind. There was something that didn’t seem right with the game, and I’m not talking about the days that were lost to the glorious British summer weather.

Then it occurred to me. It was the commentators.

Now don’t get me wrong, the commentary was top notch, with the likes of Ian Bishop, Isa Guha, Sunny Gavaskar and company giving us some great insights, but the thing that was missing for me was the lack of banter between our hosts.

You see, whenever I watch a game on Sky Sports there’s always a bit of back-and-forth friendly banter between the commentators, and it’s this kind of thing that provides a secondary form of entertainment, especially when the on-screen action isn’t what it should be.

But that was missing from the coverage in this particular game. There were no friendly insults and asides, nothing that grabbed your attention, nothing that kept you watching just for the commentary alone.

Sky Sports took quite a bit of flack a couple of years ago when they let go the likes of David Gower and Lord Ian of Bothamshire, but those left behind, especially David Lloyd, have more than plugged the gap left by those legends, and it’s this kind of commentary that adds to the overall entertainment package.

In short, maybe the I.C.C. should have got some commentators together that actually aren’t afraid of making a joke or two!