Yes, the bulk of the fun in a cricket game comes from the players on the pitch. But a seasoned cricket enthusiast will tell you that the energy largely comes from the commentator. Thanks to their delicious eloquence, commentators can amplify the excitement derivable from a game.
Before the massive technological evolutions in today’s sports, where you now have live streaming and crypto bet football, fans followed cricket matches on their radio sets, feasting essentially on the commentary.
Indeed, there are some cricket commentators whose voices and eloquence sent thrills down our spines. This article honors seven cricket commentators of all time.
Tony Greig
Tony Greig is another top name in the cricket commentary world. Although Greig was South African-born, he played for the English team before starting his commentary career after retirement.
Born on the 6th of October 1946, he was known for his passionate, unbiased, and funny commentary, coupled with his ability to illustrate pitch characters with virtually anything he could see. While anyone can get a job, Greig’s excellence landed his a “Job for life” with Nine’s Network.
After his incredible commentary at the 2006 Ashes Perth Test, he further worked with the United Kingdom’s Channel Four and Sky Sports for their 2012 coverage of England’s Sri Lanka tour. What else? His “The Tony Greig Show” with Cricinfo covers global cricket matters. Tony died at 66 in 2012.
Ian Bishop
Arguably, Ian Raphael Bishop is one of the most memorable names in the cricket commentary world. The former West indies right arm fast bowler commenced his commentary career after his 10 years career, which was impeded by injuries.
Interestingly, Bishop’s vocals are excellent, and his word usage is top-notch. He is fondly remembered for his Iconic comments for Carlos Brathwaite’s 2016 T20 World Cup winning performance.
Further, in his commentary adventure around the globe, he delivered the highlights of England’s 2007 Tests and commented on the ODI series between West Indies and India. What more? Ian Bishop is an MBA holder.
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell is an Australian commentator who has also captained the national team during his playing career. It is safe to say his commentary career started before his cricket-playing career. He had worked with BBC and 0-10 Network before playing.
After a spell as a co-host on Channel Nine, his full debut as a cricket commentator was at their 1980-81 season coverage. His lengthy commentary career at Channel Nine ended in 2018 when they sadly lost their broadcasting right to Channel 7.
Chappell turned to radio commentary afterward, joining Macquarie Sports (2018) and then ABC Radio (2022).
Harsha Bhogle
As a cricket lover, you’ll be familiar with Harsha Bhogle and his enticing commentary style. Born on the 19th of July 1961, the Indian cricket player started his commentary adventure at 19 years.
His hard work and consistency over ten years paid off when he was invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to run commentary for the 1992 Indian cricket series.
Interestingly, over time, Mr. Bhogle’s reputation made him so good that cricket lovers dubbed him the “voice of cricket”.
Notably, he has worked with ESPN STAR Sports to present live cricket from around the globe. Not only that, he ran commentary for BBC for 8 years and helped in covering the 1996 and 1999 Cricket World Cups.
Further, he is a member of the elite cricket commentary team called the ‘Few Good Men.’ Bhogle also commented on the 2011-2012 series as well as the 2011 and 2019 World Cups as he continued to give his best in his beloved career.
Ravi Shastri
You cannot exclude Ravi Shastri from the list of best cricket commentators. Shastri was born on May 27, 1962, and played for the Indian national team for over 11 years before his retirement. Ravi started his commentary journey in 1995 when he commented on TV at the Mumbai World Masters Tournament.
Interestingly, he quickly built his reputation around his crystal-clear commentary seasoned with facts, statistics, and humor. This landed him a long-term commentary job at the ESPN-Star sports channel.
After spending years at ESPN-Star, his stellar performance landed him an offer from BCCI in April 2008. Yeah, your guess is right! He accepted the offer, and his job is to run commentary on the famous Indian Premier League.
Michael Holding
Micheal Holding is popularly known as the Whispering Death because of how fast, smooth, and silent his bowling crease run-ups were.
He is a former Jamaican cricketer who showed great technique and talent. During his time of play which lasted from 1975 – 1987, he was among the feared West Indian bowling cricketer.
After resigning from playing cricket in the late 1980s, Michael Holding never had commentating in mind from the onset. His career as a cricket commentator started as a side hustle when a friend asked him to comment on cricket on a radio show.
This spiked off unexpectedly well as Michael Holding began receiving small local offers to comment on cricket on radio and television.
In the late 1990s, Michael Holding landed a job at Sky Sports and also made appearances commenting on SuperSports too.
Michael Atherton
Michael Atherton is known to be one of England’s first-class cricketers. Although retired in 2001, Michael Atherton is still famous for his strong resistance, even in a fast-bowling scene.
Also, he is known for captaining the England cricket team when he was 25 years old.
Michael Atherton started his cricket career by joining the Cambridge University cricket team in 1987 and worked his way into playing in the national team in 1989.
Michael Atherton’s career as a commentator kicked off in 2002 and lasted up to 2005. He first got a job at Channel 4 as a cricket commentator commenting on England’s Test cricket.
Later on, he got subsequent commentating jobs at Talksport and BBC Radio, where he commentated on cricket Test matches outside played outside England.
Conclusively, cricket commentary is vital to the game as it enhances the sport’s entertainment. We have discussed some of the best commentators in cricket history.
However, the best cricket commentators are not limited to this list as there are many other gifted commentators not mentioned.
