You miserable old soak ... he was just right for those of us who don't really have a clue what's going on in cricket.
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You miserable old soak ... he was just right for those of us who don't really have a clue what's going on in cricket.
That's his role though. Everyone listening that cares what's going on already knows what's going on, because they are familiar with what tends to go on in a cricket match.
In essence, Test Match Special is all about eavesdropping on a group of old friends spending the day at the game.
Exactly. He appealed to the ignorant masses as a parody of what cricket is supposedly all about. To people who actually understand the game and wanted to know what was happening, he was simply an irritant. Also, the fact is that he was simply doing a pïsspoor ripoff of Brian Johnston's on air persona - only without the charm, wit or seriousness about cricket.
Well, no. People listen to TMS because they want to know what's happening in the cricket. By all means fill in the gaps between overs by talking around the cricket, but that should never distract from telling people what's actually happening in the game. Blofeld failed as a commentator in that respect.
I would go further here. I want the talk between overs to focus on the match situation. I want to know how the wicket is behaving, which bowlers are performing, why a run rate has dropped, how an individual is struggling. I hate to drop his name in but this is where Boycott is great. He constantly comments on what the fielding captain is doing and what he should try, why a batsman is struggling, how the game could change in the current session.
This is what I want to hear.
Correct. Boycott is the best analyst in world cricket. This is why he is paid fortunes for this in India. It's only the fact that he has major beefs with various other ex-players that mean he doesn't get the same respect in England.
Notably, his fraught relationship with that pig-ignorant, bullying oaf Botham means he'll never get anywhere near Sky. Mind you, Botham's level of 'analysis' is hilariously bad. Anyone who wants to know why he made such a pig's ear of captaining England just needs to listen to the utter shîte he talks on Sky.
I like listening to Atherton although he tends to stray from cricket too often. Alec Stewart isn't great, Tufnell is what you expect. Michael Vaughan and Nasser are perfectly acceptable. These mostly operate on TV coverage though, which is different.
Overall, I would happily listen to Boycott all day.