Posted by We’ve nothing against Mark Pougatch personally, but he doesn’t bring a great deal to Test Match Special. It smacks of the Manish Bhasin debacle during the Ashes and the World Cup.
On the plus side, at least he doesn’t sound like some throwback to the British Raj, unlike some of his colleagues. You don’t hear accents like those in our neck of the woods and we don’t think it does cricket’s image any great favours.
We’ve nothing against old-school Received Pronunciation, but it’s a bit overrepresented in the TMS box.
Our last post at The Wisden Cricketer blog was about Pougatch. They’ve got an RSS feed over there now, so we won’t have to do this linking to our own words thing again for a while.
I have added the RSS feed now, so now I don’t have to do anything so old fashioned as click on a link, or (god forbid) type in a web address.
How did people cope in the old days, when the Internet was in black and white?
They just mashed the keyboard with their palms, got frightened and then went to the pub with their real-life, tangible friends.
I like Blowers. Where is Blowers these days? I need to know about pigeons and when there is an interesting bus driving past. Because these are the things I pay attention to when I’m AT the cricket.
Also Tuffers +TMS = brilliant.
I can’t listen to TMS in case B**cott starts speaking. I am allergic to him and turn into Hulk Suave, shouting and swearing at his first whingey whiny bloody ranting…
I have to agree with Ceci, Boycott was particularly bad during the first test; kept on interrupting everyone. You could hear Aggers trying to restrain himself from losing it with him!
And I love Tuffers. Even his seemingly sexist comments (‘what’s the women’s equivalent of a beer match? a white wine match?’) don’t seem to rile me. I think it’s cos he knows how silly he is.
Apparently Blowers was at a wedding in France during the last Test.
I don’t think I’ve made that up???
Tuffers is fab. As for RP on TMS, it simply wouldn’t be TMS without at least one plummy type.
I bloody hate white wine, I often take green chartreuse along when watching Durham [except at the Riverside during Twenty20 which only does beer or larger so can be considered a dry venue]. I have some Isle of Jura right now.
Isn’t it a bit of a catch 22 for TMS – I mean in the teenage stab zones of the Holloway Road or Kentish Town you don’t hear much discussion of what the best permutation of city based v county structure for domestic Twenty20 should be, do you….um…bro?
And remember Tuffers went to the public school 2 miles up the hill from the Holloway Road, rather than slumming it with the rest of us. It’s a shame Boycott wastes his northern accent on whinging.
I’m not a fan of Poogash. He keeps asking all these ultra-keen questions as if he’s in awe of the people he’s with, which I don’t blame him for being, but I don’t want to listen to that. I think he’s an advert for getting cricketers with some TV/radio talent onto programmes, rather than keen TV/radio people.
I only have to go as far as Charles Colville to back that up.
AARRGGHHH! Don’t introduce the thought of ColVILE into my day! Bad Kirk!
I quite like Cheeky Charlie – i used to hate him, but then his winter verdicts with Boring Bob were actually really good.
Don’t let him commentate, just let him stoke fires with Bob – it was like two negatives making a massive positive.
Sorry S, Canterbury.
*bangs head on desk*
Now Willis!!!!!!!!
I always hated physics. (I think that’s physics??). I was always much better at biology and chemistry.
Pougatch is not good, but he tries very hard and gives it his best.
I have been surprised with Tuffers though, much better then he could have been, and he seems to know more then you would expect. He was good doing the Middlesex and Lancashire t20 quater final aswell. getting very excited with Dawid Malan
Pougatch talks about the action too much – exactly what I don’t want in a TMS commentator.
Well their chemistry is good, Miss Canterbury. Okay, I know it is barmy saying Willis and Colvile are any good, but together, doing their verdict, it really worked.
Rubbish commentators but get them angry by putting them in studio and they were very strong.
Tufnell – high-quality: “He’s been feng shui-ed. Furniture re-arranged.”
I actually let out a genuine yelp of fright every time Colville introduces Willis and they cut to his gurning mug staring straight into the camera, with that freaky grin on his face. Before the watershed sometimes, too. It shouldn’t be allowed.
I dread to think what the effect would be if we had Sky HD.
It’s amazing in HD. Like he’s in the room. Cricket meets the Ring.
That is half the joy of the programme – it is genuinely scary.
Is HD worth getting, D Charlton? Have been pondering…
Don’t want to think about Willis and ColVILE any more, thank you very much!
Is it worth getting… good question. Not yet because there are not enough programmes in it. I get a very good deal via work which makes it worth while, but it is expensive if you have to pay full whack. I wouldn’t get it if i had to pay that. But it depends how much you are prepared to spend! It will be getting cheaper.
As for the picture, it is fantastic. So clear and crisp – you get very spoiled and can’t watch stuff not in HD. Things like costume dramas (that my Mrs made me watch) did look incredible. And for sport, you can see every hair on Daniel Vettori’s chin.
Like when you first get a big telly and someone else’s small telly bothers you, or when DVDs came out and videos suddenly looked crap, we reckon there’s no benefit and that it’ll only make ordinary telly look worse.
Glass half empty, you say? We wish.
Yes – balls to progress – I love my videos of Botham’s Ashes on my six-inch screen. I agree entirely KC.
Bring back Betamax.
Agggh – hideous rogue apostrophe in last post – please edited KC. That is horrible. These things matter to me.
It looks a bit like you want us to remove the correct possessive apostrophe in ‘Botham’s’ now.
We could just remove the correction-request comment, but that’s not our way.
The best thing about D Charlton’s request is “please edited KC”.
Good work.
*giggles*
I know that didn’t add much to the debate but I wanted to register my giggle anyway!