Players and commentators - An impeccable blend

Tony Greig : Had you not there , I wouldn’t have seen cricket over the years

How often have we witnessed in our day-to-day life, a perfect combination that stays in our memory forever, be it from the side of music, s singer and an actor or be it from the cinema industry, the artists and the technicians. These combinations are widely spoken every day, not just because one performs well and the other isn’t, it’s because both of them synchronize each other every time at any point to bring out the best result. Just imagine, how it would be if the technical aspects of the film are really good but, the performance of artists are not up to the mark and lag behind by a big margin. This is often the reason why we step out of the theatre hall and say, the movie is a big time flop (though the investment from the production side is huge), and overall, it’s a fiasco to the unit as a whole. But, why do we discuss this aspect of combination in a sports column, do we have something to bring upon relating to sports, cricket in particular? Indeed yes, is the answer. Cricket, as everyone knows, involves a team, comprising the team members and a coach. Each of us either switches on the TV or goes directly to the stadium to watch our favorite team’s performance on the field. People, who go to the stadium, will find themselves in tact either by frolic ambiance around them or rejoicing by looking at the match live on field. But, how do the folks watching at home spare their time with? Merely watching the video of the game will be ennui to many. In those moments, if we observe there might be little things that make us indirectly get addicted to this game. Commentary is among those little things. How many of us really believe that commentary has a huge role in this arena. If you are the one to believe it then my further discussions will resonate your thoughts. We believe commentators just present the actions happening on field into words, yes, that’s their job, but while doing so there are some, who catches our attention with their vibrant and magniloquent speech that makes even the most boring match appealing. When I think of some impact commentators, Tony Grieg comes to my mind at a shot. He holds the responsibility of pulling many people to watch this game straightaway. I am one in that list. If I recollect my childhood days, it was in the 1998 Sharjah (Coca-Cola)Cup series between India and Australia, where Sachin was blastering sixes all over the ground against Warne’s deliveries, On the other hand his innings was completely overshadowed by Tony’s amazing commentary about his shots. I believe, it was his speech that made Sachin’s innings even more graceful and pulled everyone from their seat. Not only this series, but in a number of matches, there are many such commentators who have created a huge impact off field. Alan Wilkins and Rahul Dravid combo is the other one. Not only in real, take up the case of Virtual games as well. Everyone would have tried their hand at ‘EASports Cricket’ game, mostly it would be Nicholas’s and Benaud’s commentary we encounter and there are people who remember the sentences they say after every shot. This is the impact of commentators. Now, I hope, I can give a justification to my discussion on the perfect combination. The Sharjah Cup scenario will define the good partnership and combination that existed between a player and a commentator. Commentators make the game more fascinating than what’s expected of their job. Commentary is an art, we can say, Not many have that potential to grab everyone’s attention. Harsha Bhogle, with his intriguing analysis and articulation of words, is one among the present generation of commentators, who enthrall the audience with their creativity. Thus, we see, everything in life is a perfect blend of two or more things. The right combination at the right time will always bring out the best result and will be everlasting forever.