Killer combos in the box

The world of cricket has thrown some great partnerships...Sachin, Ganguly; Hayden, Gichrist; Wasim, Waqar; Warne,Healy...there are all types there - bowlers, batsmen, bowler-fielders... there always was a synchronization between all these pairs. To say the least, it was a treat to watch them.

How about the ones with the microphone? We almost always end up talking about the action in the middle but what about all those who make it interesting with their talk. Ever since I woke up to the graceful voice of Richie Benaud, there have been so many greats who made cricket what it is. Tony Greig, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, Ranjit Fernando, Harsha Bhogle, Michael Holding, Rameez Raja for one reason or the other made commentary exciting.

Which brought me to an interesting thought...who in the current set are a good pair at the box and conversely who are the dreaded pair. Since IPL is hogging the lime light now, let me restrict to the pairs in the box in this tournament.

Interesting Pairs

Harsha B & Danny Morrison

Harsha, for me, is one of the best commentators around; probably because he brings a whiff of fresh air with his view in a non-international player angle. Speaks from the heart and almost always makes it interesting. He would gel with a dull Ranjit Fernando (one gets a feeling...) and a mystique Rameez Raja(lovely hitter of the cricket ball) as well.

But what makes Harsha's pairing with Danny exciting is the energy they bring to the box. You can feel the action right in the middle of the room. And more often than not, they follow Pommie Mbangwa and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan...do I need to say more?

Harsha & Sunny

Harsha again features primarily because he leaves his witty conversations with Danny and puts the introspection cap on. With Sunny around, there is no fooling! But Harsha does get away with some subtle niceties and ends up extracting every pound of Sunny's wisdom.

Sunny, to his part, makes sure that there is enough fodder for Harsha to make it exciting...be it the misthi doi in Kolkata or the nostalgic Brabourne at Mumbai...One thing's for sure, with this pair around, there never is a dull moment!

Now, to the easier part...choosing the dull pairs. For me, there is a unanimous choice.

Pommy Mbangwa and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

Pommy has proven that he always sticks to his line...he has been a boring bowler (I used to wonder if batsmen actually felt sad hitting his lolly-pops) and carried that tradition to the box. LSK, on the other hand, is wonderful at killing the interest.

Simple example...in a match at Mumbai a banner read "Sachin...turning people into atheists since 1989" If you ask me, this is one of the best we have seen for some time. And what does LSK interpret this as..."1989 is the year Sachin made his debut"...can you have a more lame comment than that?

Yes, you can...proved Pommy. He, at the same time, was talking about two ways of getting a good start in T20s. According to the professor Pommy they are "scoring runs and not losing wickets"...Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry would have been happy not to be associated with them!