Five commentators who did not have very good international careers

Who doesn’t love good cricket commentators? Loud shouts of boundaries, sixes, wickets whilst providing statistical and analytical information about players and pitches, commentators are one of the key reasons why the sport has become so much more entertaining.

Over the years, we have seen a number of cricketers who have turned out to be very successful commentators. It is very hard to tell whether the likes of Richie Benaud and Tony Greig will be remembered more for their cricketing careers or commentary stints.

However, there have also been many players who did not enjoy too much success on the field but did in the commentary box. Here are five current commentators who did not have successful international careers.

#5 Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

A very popular commentator, it’s pretty sad that Siva did not enjoy similar success in his international career despite showing promise initially. From being discovered at the age of 12 to representing the Indian U-19s at the age of 15, LS made his First-Class debut at the age of 16 and had a terrific start to his domestic career, taking 7/28 against Delhi in the quarter-finals of the 1981-82 Ranji Trophy.

Based on his performances in only three First-Class matches, he was chosen to play for South Zone against West Zone in the Duleep Trophy where he took five wickets in the second innings including that of Sunil Gavaskar. His impressive First-Class performances resulted in his inclusion in the Indian team for the tours of Pakistan and West Indies during the 1982/83 season which made him the youngest Indian Test cricketer at the time.

A year later, in 1984, Siva established himself as one of the shining stars of Indian cricket as he took three consecutive 5-wicket hauls against England. He also produced some brilliant performances in ODIs as well, finishing as the top wicket-taker at the Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985.

However, in 1986, he endured a drastic dip in form and with disappointing performances in Tests, was dropped from the Test team, never playing the longest format ever again. He also had lackluster performances in ODIs but was surprisingly recalled to the ODI team for the 1987 World Cup where he played two matches, picking up only one wicket. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Siva was dropped from the team.

In order to save his international career, he converted into a batsman and scored three centuries for Tamil Nadu during their successful campaign in the 1987/88 Ranji Trophy. However, he was never recalled to the national team following the emergence of Anil Kumble and Venkatapathy Raju and ended his First-Class career with 1802 runs and 154 wickets. In addition to being a commentator, Siva is also a players' representative on the ICC's Cricket Committee.

#4 Ian Ward

Ward had a poor international career

Ian Ward had a very impressive domestic career with Surrey, scoring 8575 First-Class runs at an average of 40.25, smashing 43 fifties and 23 centuries. He also scored 4059 List-A runs at an average of 28.99, smashing 27 fifties and two hundreds.

However, he did not have a successful international career. After impressing with Surrey and helping them win the County Championship in 2001 and 2002, Ward was selected in England's Test side for the series against Pakistan. Normally deployed as an opening batsman, Ward, though, was used as a middle-order batsman for England which affected his performances. On his Test debut at Lord’s, Ward scored 39 and followed it with 12 and 10 in the second Test at Old Trafford.

Despite his poor performances against Pakistan, he was selected for the Ashes. However, his numbers did not improve as he scored 23 and 3 in the first Test at Birmingham which was followed by 23 and zero in the second Test at Lord’s. After scoring only 6 and 13 in the third Test, Ward was dropped for the next two Tests and following the conclusion of the series, he was axed from the team and never recalled.

He retired from all forms of cricket in 2005 to pursue a career in cricket commentary and presentation. He is now an integral member of the Sky Sports cricket presenting team and his in-depth analysis has garnered him a lot of praise.

#3 Mpumelelo Mbangwa

Pommie Mbangwa's international appearances were quite sporadic

Undoubtedly one of the most successful commentators from Zimbabwe, Pommie Mbangwa did not have a very memorable career with the Zimbabwe national team. After being coached by Dennis Lillee in Chennai, Mbangwa moved to South Africa where he joined the Plascon Academy before receiving a call-up to the Zimbabwe side because of injuries to the team’s first-choice bowlers.

Pommie had a fairly good start to his Test career, picking up two wickets on his debut, against Pakistan. However, he could not maintain his spot in the team, mainly because of the fact that he lacked pace and batsmen found it easy to play him.

Despite not featuring regularly for Zimbabwe, Mbangwa still managed to find a place in three Champions Trophy squads (1998, 2000, 2002) and the 1999 World Cup side. He called time on his international career following the 2002 World Cup at the age of just 28 to pursue a career as a commentator.

Mbangwa picked up 32 Test wickets and 11 ODI wickets. An authentic No.11, Pommie’s average of 2 is the lowest for any Test cricketer.

#2 Simon Doull

Injuries hampered Simon Doull's international career

Simon Doull made his debut for New Zealand in 1992 against Zimbabwe and produced some brilliant performances for the team, especially in Tests where he took 98 wickets, including six 5-wicket hauls, with 7/65 against India at Boxing Day in Wellington in 1998 being his career-best figures. That spell eventually took him up to No. 6 in the ICC rankings for bowlers.

Doull played 42 ODIs for the Kiwis and took 36 wickets, featuring at the 1998 Champions Trophy, and the 1999 World Cup where New Zealand reached the semi-finals. However, due to persistent back problems, Doull’s appearances for the national team were limited.

A knee injury during New Zealand’s tour of England in 1999 ended his international career a year later. After retiring from cricket, Doull took up commentary and he is currently working with New Zealand’s Sky Sports.

#1 David Lloyd

David Lloyd's international career was a pale shadow of his First-Class one

From an all-rounder to an umpire to a coach and now a commentator, David Lloyd has done it all.

In a domestic career spanning almost two decades, Lloyd scored 19,269 First-Class runs that included 93 fifties and 38 centuries. In List-A, Bumble managed 7761 runs with 44 fifties and 7 centuries. His brilliant performances for Lancashire earned him a call-up to the ODI team in 1973 where he scored 8 on his debut against West Indies.

He made his Test debut a year later against India at Lord’s where he scored 46. In the following match at Edgbaston, he scored a mammoth 214 which was instrumental in England winning the match and the series, with Lloyd ending with a batting average of 260.

Lloyd’s performances in the ODI series weren't too eye-catching but he was still selected for the series against Pakistan which was scheduled to take place a few days later.

Lloyd had a disastrous Test series, scoring 92 runs in four innings. His performance in the first ODI though was brilliant as he scored 116 but it was followed by 4 in the second ODI.

His performance in the Ashes in 1975 was pretty abysmal and an injury resulted in him being dropped and never playing Test cricket again. Lloyd played two more ODIs, one in 1978 and the other in 1980 where he broke his arm after facing 8 balls. He never played another match for England.

After his retirement, Lloyd became an umpire in domestic cricket before turning to coaching. Bumble coached England from 1996-1999, helping them to many brilliant victories. Following the 1999 World Cup, Lloyd stepped down and joined Sky Sports as a commentator. He also published an autobiography: Anything but Murder where he took a dig at a few England players including Graham Thorpe, Nasser Hussain, and Andrew Caddick.