In appreciation of Tony Greig
Cricket has seen many sixes being hit and breathtaking catches being taken post 2012 thanks to the T20 explosion. However, never have those moments sounded as spectacular as they did in the 90s and the 2000s when Tony Greig was behind the mic and the ball was in the air.
Every commentator has his own style of calling a six or a catch, so this piece is not about those who chose to be non Tony Greig like. It's about Tony Greig and the joy he brought with his commentary to the average cricket lover, the peak of which came every time the ball was hit in the air by the batsman.
Coming from an era where it wasn't exactly the norm to hit the ball in the air, Greig's initial vocal response to every time someone hit a six was one bordering on shock. He then went on to give voice to the excitement and the sense of suspense felt by thousands sitting in the stadium and many more watching that ball in the air on television. What made it all the more special was the way he expressed so much even in that state of hyper-excitement. He seemed to have that magical ability to squeeze in as many words as possible while the ball hovered in air with a child-like excitement that described everything that the bowler felt, everything that went through the mind of the batsman and everything that the fielder saw when he had his eyes glued to the ball.
Once the ball had been pouched, his words voiced the joy of the fielder who had taken that catch which we wished we could hear but we couldn't. But Greig's excitement and growing decibels proved enough. In his voice and in his words, one could also find the often unexpressed happiness of the batsman who had managed to hit the bowler for the best result possible. The adjectives he used to describe the shot or the catch were never the most extraordinary. But they were exactly what would come out of the lips of a man left truly impressed by what he had just witnessed. Simple words said with the highest amount of passion. And that made it sound like the most beautiful thing in the world, more pleasing to the ears than the music of the greatest musicians, at least for the cricket lover.
Every commentator has his own style of calling a six or a catch, so this piece is not about those who chose to be non Tony Greig like. It's about Tony Greig and the joy he brought with his commentary to the average cricket lover, the peak of which came every time the ball was hit in the air by the batsman.
Coming from an era where it wasn't exactly the norm to hit the ball in the air, Greig's initial vocal response to every time someone hit a six was one bordering on shock. He then went on to give voice to the excitement and the sense of suspense felt by thousands sitting in the stadium and many more watching that ball in the air on television. What made it all the more special was the way he expressed so much even in that state of hyper-excitement. He seemed to have that magical ability to squeeze in as many words as possible while the ball hovered in air with a child-like excitement that described everything that the bowler felt, everything that went through the mind of the batsman and everything that the fielder saw when he had his eyes glued to the ball.
Once the ball had been pouched, his words voiced the joy of the fielder who had taken that catch which we wished we could hear but we couldn't. But Greig's excitement and growing decibels proved enough. In his voice and in his words, one could also find the often unexpressed happiness of the batsman who had managed to hit the bowler for the best result possible. The adjectives he used to describe the shot or the catch were never the most extraordinary. But they were exactly what would come out of the lips of a man left truly impressed by what he had just witnessed. Simple words said with the highest amount of passion. And that made it sound like the most beautiful thing in the world, more pleasing to the ears than the music of the greatest musicians, at least for the cricket lover.
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