Two from the Sydney Test.

Ian Healy (who can barely speak English, following a short single from Harbhajan and Tendulkar) : "so Harbhajan there on the back foot but just got away in time to make it in enough comfort for time." - uhhh...what?

Richie Benaurd (this is just getting sad) : "people forget that Gilchrist was a wicketkeeper before he became a batsman." - right Rich...the fact that Gilchrist is a wicketkeeper is a subtle detail of his cricket career so often forgotten, he's only played, what, 90 Tests as one?

Please add on some historical favourites!

Can't think of any from cricket just now, but there was a great one from Ted Lowe, a snooker commentator, back in the days when half the population had black and white televisions.

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I think people often tend to over rate the radio commentators who have the luxury of being able to verbally describe the ball being played knowing that most of their audience are not watching the action.

While TV commentators need to add something to the description because everyone has seen it unfold.

When you think about it radio commentators often digress totally off topic and waffle on in what I presume is a need to make sure silence is not going through the airwaves.

Silence is death to a radio station so radio commentators always need to have topics to discuss to fill any possible gaps in the action. There's only so much you can say when a team is scoring at 2.5 an over and 4 out of 6 balls are dots through to the keeper or blocks.

Kerry O'Keefe explaining to Hashe Bogle why he is nude when he listens to Barry White "CD's" and Hashe (who does not know who Barry White is) asking him if he also listens to Kenny Rogers nude...a large male singer that Hashe has heard of.

classic

I'm not quite sure what to make of that, it's pretty far off the topic though. WE get the ABC commentary here in NZ every now and again and on the whole it's pretty good.

I find Jim Maxwell annoying on the ABC.

He rates his own opinion way to high often at the expense of others who unlike him have actualy played test cricket.

I can't tihnk of any cricket related ones right now but I foudn a few by Murray Mexted - a terrible Kiwi rugby commentator.

"Andy Ellis - the 21 year old, who turned 22 a few weeks ago"
"He scored that try after only 22 seconds - totally against the run of play."
"I would not say he (Rico Gear) is the best left winger in the Super 14, but there are none better."
"Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw."
"Strangely, in slow motion replay, the ball seemed to hang in the air for even longer."

Peter Roebuck and Jim Maxwell's bitter after match gang king hit on Ricky Ponting sinks both of them to a new low in my oppinion.

You guys are forgetting the king of commentary foul-ups: Murray Walker (most notably Formula 1)

"...every lap Shumacher does now is one lap less he has to do to the end!"
"...Unless I'm very much mistaken... and I AM very much mistaken!"
"...and excuse me while I interrupt myself!"

the list goes on and on...

Back to cricket though, any NZ'ers who remember when Martin Crowe first started commentating will probably shudder ("wackadeedoo", anyone?). There's one exchange I remember:

Crowe: 'the people are singing, but there's no sound coming out'
Ian Smith: 'what?!?!'

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