Admittedly two of them, Campbell and Manthorp, are hogtied by a conflict of interest that puts them in the lucrative but dubious position of working for both Zimbabwe Cricket and the media. In effect, they can write their own reviews. Alas, it's common practice to serve two masters these days, and helps explain the malpractices that continue to blight the game.
I picked this up in the last T20 when I heard Campbell was one of the commentators and I thought that was a bit wiered. Nothing against Campbell but I think this makes the commentary room very awkward and other commentators cant "comment" on the game. players and issues around the game fairly, just my thoughts what do you think.
Hmmmm....ya it's a good article, but nothing more than that.
The fact that he thinks the appointment of Manthorpe, Campbell, Flower, Streak, Houghton, Renni etc is racist is just a joke. If the selection comittee and techniqual team is all black, would that be classed as racist ?! No !
I'm sick to death of hearing racist oppinions like that, It's something people need to drill into their heads quickly !
I saw that article on Cricinfo - this is not the first time where I haven't been impressed with an article by Peter Roebuck. But that's the good thing about the media, you generally get different opinions.
As for the conflict of interest, I can understand where he's coming from and I have thought about it myself a few times in the past - but I like Alistair Campbell's commentary and I don't think there is an issue. He's a good commentator, and his position does mean he has some interesting things to talk about. One of the problems (in the past) with games involving Zimbabwe is that often the commentators are not all that familiar with the players; the Asian commentators only know some basic information about the players from the ODI's they have commentated on in the past, Hugo Ribatika from a few years ago didn't know until the 3rd ODI which sport he was watching, and the rest only know about the home team (ie. West Indies).
Campbell and du Plessis (who unfortunately wasn't in the box for the tri series?) have been a breath of fresh air. I remember a few series back Campbell was able to reveal some information which would otherwise have been left unsaid (I think it may have been the intention to bring day/night cricket to Harare Sports Club), and du Plessis is extremely knowledgeable about the players and their stats. Dirk Viljoen isn't too bad either, and if Neil Manthorp sticks around in the commentary box he'll be good too - he seems really impressed by the developments in Zimbabwean cricket and eager to learn about the team.
So I certainly hope the commentary team stays as is, and if they can bring in overseas talent like Tony Grieg every now and then - fantastic.
Zimbabwe is that often the commentators are not all that familiar with the players
I guess I will have to call it a GNU kind of situation and I definitely appreciate good commentary with guys who know what they are talking about and about the players. ThoughI would rather it wasnt like this but through this transition period I will settle for it.
ugo Ribatika from a few years ago didn't know until the 3rd ODI which sport he was watching
du Plessis
Man hows Dean I remember calling a pal at the game and he said he was sitting next to dean and i said put him on the phone and I talked to the dude, cool down to earth dude who knows his stuff. AMAZING!
ya it's a good article, but nothing more than that
When ever I see an article on Zimbabwe on cricinfo homepage am always interested to see what they have to say and its usually just that. Nothing much new though i appreciate his change in attitude and hence using his influence to effect the same in others.
Man hows Dean I remember calling a pal at the game and he said he was sitting next to dean and i said put him on the phone and I talked to the dude, cool down to earth dude who knows his stuff. AMAZING!