Boycott

[Mike_Hock]

Who is looking forward to hearing Boycs commintate on the series? Personally I think he is one of the best and it will be a refreshing change to hear the C4 team. There is only so much of Bob Willis and Paul Alott you can take.

[flanflinger]

Bob Wills could moan for England!!

[Scott-Wozniak]

Originally Posted by Mike_Hock

Who is looking forward to hearing Boycs commintate on the series? Personally I think he is one of the best and it will be a refreshing change to hear the C4 team. There is only so much of Bob Willis and Paul Alott you can take.

Mike

Is Boyc's commentating for C4 ? (3 commercial breaks in the first 25 minutes already!)

Scott

[Mike_Hock]

I believe so Scott.

[Mike_Hock]

Ha ha he keeps giving Dermot stick! Quality

[sostenurter]

Originally Posted by Mike_Hock

Ha ha he keeps giving Dermot stick! Quality

Yeah, and did you hear Dermot's reply? "How many times have you dismissed me in first-class cricket?"

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by sostenurter

Yeah, and did you hear Dermot's reply? "How many times have you dismissed me in first-class cricket?"

Dermot Reeve has an extraordinarily inflated view of his worth as a first class cricketer.
I suspect much of it derives from the Rothman's challenge single wicket competition he took part in N (n = a large number) years ago...when all the world's greats (of the time) took part except Ian Botham.

Sad really. Like other former county all-rounders (and commentators), he wasn't a very good bowler and he wasn't a very good batsman. He was very impressed with his abilities as a skipper (n.b. Mark Nicholas) and he probably is a decent coach.

But for goodness sake Dermot...show a bit of humility. PLEASE.

[Rachael]

What's eating you about Dermott, Oliver? I'd say he's the best skipper any county has had in my lifetime and one of the very best county coaches as well. He's clearly been a very, very respectable bowler (ideally suited to English conditions) and a singularly resourceful and inventive batsman.

I wanted him as a captain of the England ODI side for most of his 1st class career.. and have been hoping for his elevation to England coach pretty well ever since he ended his playing days.

As a commentator I'd say he's shy of CMJ's standards (as is everyone else)... but pretty well the best of the rest.

Great guy, really.

[Tom Partis]

Boycott is intensely annoying with his yorkshire accent. you can bet that he'll collar hoggard before the match is out and remonstrate with him on the shagginess of his hairstyle. Nicholas is a smarmy git who makes snide comments about everyone and Reeve and Atherton were having some excellent disagreements earlier. Add to that the fact that Benaud has an unhealthy obsession with the blue square blimp and you have an altogether idyllic commentary team! quite the best way to watch cricket!

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by Rachael

What's eating you about Dermott, Oliver? I'd say he's the best skipper any county has had in my lifetime and one of the very best county coaches as well. He's clearly been a very, very respectable bowler (ideally suited to English conditions) and a singularly resourceful and inventive batsman.

I wanted him as a captain of the England ODI side for most of his 1st class career..

Hello Rachael, long time, no exchange...

Yup, Dermot. It's the smarm really. Never did like smarmy people. And he's really quite smarmy. For no reason.
You might hear him say, as a prodding ****-taking aside: "Could've got you Geoffrey" or "Got you out a few times Geoffrey."
But their peaks barely coincided (in fact not at all) and I suspect that Sir Geoffrey would have had the better record over time.

Reeve talks as though he was one of the all time greats, only beaten out of decent career by his weak knees (and back?)
But in reality he played just a handful of innings (all against New Zealand on the 91/92 tour) and barely set the world alight, top score 59 averaging 24.8 and two wickets for sixty.

This Wisden article is telling...and the penultimate sentence suggests that I'm not the only person who has a problem with him.

Reeve loved to improvise. He would reverse sweep the spinners to distraction, go down on one knee to hoist the quicks over midwicket, and subtly vary the pace of his jobbing, limbs-pumping seamers. In one county match, against Hampshire, he even played left-arm spinner Raj Maru by throwing his bat to the ground to rule out catches to the close fielders. But, as a spanking cover drive and tight off-stump line showed, he could do the basics too. His mind-over-matter approach made him a natural captain, and in 1994 - with a little help from Brian Lara's bat and Bob Woolmer's coaching - he led Warwickshire to three of the four major trophies, failing only in the NatWest final. Reeve was already an occasional member of England's one-day side by this stage - having appeared for his native Hong Kong in the 1982 ICC Trophy - and played in the 1992 World Cup final, but he was given just three Tests, all in the 1991-92 series in New Zealand. His international career would have been longer if his ability to irk opponents hadn't extended to his team-mates. He left Warwickshire in 1997 to become Somerset's coach, and now works as an incisive commentator for Channel 4. Lawrence Booth