Down Memory Lane: The pleasure of watching Cricket on Channel 9

Comparison between the past and the present

The current crop of Commentators with legends Bill Lawry and Ian Chappel

Over a period of time, Channel 9 has equipped itself with professional commentators like Mark Nicholas, Mark Taylor, Michael Slater, Shane Warne, and Ian Healy. Though some of these former Australian cricketers, with their wealth of experience, have proved to be an effective expert commentator, they couldn’t create the same kind of impact as a Billy Lawry or a Tony Greig did.

The presence of foreign commentators on Channel 9 hasn’t helped its cause either. At times, when you listen to Indian commentators describing the action on a coverage like Channel 9, you feel like watching a good dubbing movie where the visuals and audio don’t synchronize.

The game too has moved on so fast that now cricket fans all over the world have in-depth knowledge about the game. They have learned a lot by watching so many matches on TV. It was not like radio commentary where, without the visuals, the commentator had to describe all the action by himself. Now the audience understands what they watch and what they expect from the TV commentators is their expert opinions, predictions and their perceptions about the game.

As the Indian fans eagerly look forward to action to begin on 6th December at Adelaide, as a long-term observer of the game, one gets the feeling that the visuals coming from Down Under are not of the same quality as before.

Perhaps some atmospheric presence in the air somehow seems to have a blurring effect on the vision. This point could be emphasized by the fact that the visuals from New Zealand are far more pleasant to the eyes than the ones from Australia.

To sum up, though technology has improved when it comes to presenting the game to the TV audience in a much better manner since 1985, old-timers still feel that the action witnessed in Channel 9 in 1985 was much better in terms of excitement and novelty. The thrill and the fascination will never be the same again.