Cricket is a funny old game. And that is a clichéd line that almost every cricket commentator has used. When it's a test match we're watching, punctuated with long periods of snail-paced action, it's the commentary that can hold our interest. Witty, incisive commentary, the likes of Ian Chappel, Richie Benaud, Harsha Bhogle and Barry Richards can hold the viewer's interest and even, provide an enjoyable experience. The likes of Ravi Shastri, Laxman Shivaramakrishnan however, tend to be unintentionally hilarious.
Richie Benaud is considered to be one of the best cricket commentators
Cricket commentators tend to be of two types : the first type is of sports analysts and writers like Harsha Bhogle, Charu Sharma, the tribe that is fast becoming extinct. The second type is the more dominant one - cricket commentators who can be summed up in two words: Retired Cricketers. The problem with cricketers sharing their thoughts about the game, ball-by-ball, is that while they may have played the game well, not many can talk about it well.
There was a time when people 'watched' cricket matches by listening to legendary cricket commentators on the radio. Now is the time when most people prefer to watch the match on TV with the volume on mute. The predictable phrases and idioms of our commentators and sometimes their bias, irks many a viewer. It would be wrong to trivialise the importance of good commentary and it is also important to acknowledge that excellent commentary on cricket is not as easy a task as it may seem. Dean Jones created a major controversy when he was heard on air calling bearded South African player Hashim Amla a 'terrorist'. As Harsha Bhogle points out:
"You have to assume that the microphone is always on. There will be some network somewhere who will be on live even when there is a break. We have directorial microphones too, so we have to be very careful. Sometimes producers do tell us that it is leaking, be careful. I have made up my mind not to swear even when not on air."
While not controversial, many commentators are a source of parody for their predictable one-liners. The twitter handle Shastribot whose bio reads 'I'm a cool customer and just what the doctor ordered. Twitter, are you ready?' is an amazing, brutally honest parody commentator who replies to any situation, any question with the same, inimitable Shastri dialogues. If overusing a phrase is sufficient to ban it, all tracer bullet references would have been long banned.
It is very tough to be an excellent cricket commentator just as it is supremely easy to be a bad one. Commentators have that rare opportunity of lending their voice to a historic moment, or echoing the sentiments of a million cricket fans. It's a job that is more than the sum of its clichés.
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