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[ramshorns]

VVS's accent is fine! There is nothing wrong with it. All people in the world have accents. Just different kinds of accents. The primacy of one (Queen's English) over others is increasingly anachronistic in our multi-cultural times. I liked the interviews. What VVS has to improve perhaps is his vocabulary. But that comes with practice and training. I think all good commentators work on their craft, just as a young batsman would hone his skills in the nets before a match.

I am sure that VVS will be a fine commentator, not a flamboyant windbag like Shastri (who BTW, has a very poor stock of words and expressions.)

I am not sure it has to do only with vocabulary - which is his knowledge of English words. People with strong vocabulary can screw up communication by using complex words unnecessarily. The issue is do the right, simple words that form simple yet effective sentences come to him naturally when he is communicating concepts.. and is the delivery smooth without distracting filler words like basically, obviously etc.

As CLR and me and many other like KIC and WV said VVS is fine with the way he communicates and effectively delivers his analyses which is the key.  CLR's pointer to Vocabulary is valid too given that if someone has a long stint or a career you do not want them to sound redundant and I am sure VVS with his rich educational background and intelligence can easily make it up if he already is not at that level since we cannot just go by this one interview.  So all and all a very big Yes for VVS indeed and as many confirmed here his accent is not an issue not by a long shot and I am glad he can pursue it if he really wants it  and be a huge hit.

In Telugu commentary, yes!

No sorry.  Your prejudice over people's accent is brought to the fore here if anything based on classifying a group of people and declaring them unfit for a job which is like saying since women do not sound like men women cannot be allowed into the commentary in various sports.  Thank god you will never have to cross paths with Mary Carillo or Summer Sanders. 

.. show me a post where I say ONLY accent matters and VVS will not do well ONLY because of his accent.

Perhaps you have a prejudice towards assigning people prejudices that they may not have

PS: nice diversionary/baiting tactic by throwing the women thing there .. I am afraid that will not make VVS a better commentator!

No throwing in the women part was just an analogy because someone sounding like something does not make them better or unfit for a job.  That was your basic contention with VVS.  Your grouse was with his so called strong Andhra accent.  AND YOU ALSO MOCKED that HE WILL DO GOOD IN TELUGU COMMENTARY WHICH AGAIN POINTS TO THE ACCENT PART MOSTLY.  Then you want on classifying people into two groups and assigned VVS with a group that he does not fit into even if one were to for a second consider and agree to that.  So I take that sought of a pre-concieved notion which will always make people judgemental consiously or sub-conciously.

That is why I specifically asked CLR, SSL, WV, KIC, KBAN et.al to listen to his interview and see anything odd with his accent I may be missing an oddity that will rule him out rightaway.  The answers I recieved thus far are are a resounding no and favoring VVS for the job.

Now VVS making it great or not depends on how he shapes up if and when he takes up a job but as of now he seems to be a go judging by people's reaction and accent is not an issue nor his English or his general usage and sentence construction for most part.  That he needs to improve is a given and I understand that if it is taken up as a job it needs improvement and fine tune it for the audience.  Atleast there are the basic qualities in VVS to make it big in commentary.

my original statment  ..

" He does not have a good command over conversational English and has a strong Andhra accent* "

The * was expanded later with the groups thingy! You obviously are not reading/seeing/ignoring the AND ..and you are calling me prejudiced. Wah!!

I further expanded my main statement to show what attributes are needed for a successful commentator and my assessment of VVS..

"For one to be successful on air.. one has to have a combination of presence(which he lacks, relatively speaking), knowledge of the game(which he surely has), ability to spot  insights that a common observer cant (which I think he is limited in), and an ability to communicate the insights in a clear and understandable manner to the audience (which I think he cannot, primarily due to his lack of command and strong accent)."

Again accent was one of the reasons I picked .. not THE PRIMARY reason...but looks like that got stuck into your head .. wonder why?. hmmmmm... who is prejudiced again!!

You saying he will be do good in TELUGU commentary clearly proves you having Accent as the primary criteria.  Other things like communcation and sentences etc etc anyone who watched the interview will see that he is no inferior to SG/RD/AK or even SMG and RS.  So that is not at all the determining factor as I read it.   But still you are entitled to your opinion and I said what I felt like as I always do.  I think VVS will just do fine and some of them here on the DG too gave their approval.  So I am not alone in thinking that VVS has a shot at this thing.

[ramshorns]

For those of you wanting to watch that VVS interview here is the link since it can get lost in these flurry of posts my debates will always tend to generate on the DG.

http://www.cricketvoice.com/cricketforum2/index.php/topic,18096.msg247993.html#msg247993

[Blwe_torch]

Yaar...hero-worship ka hadh hai!

[ramshorns]

Yaar...hero-worship ka hadh hai!

Bauji...Kyon...What SG is the only one who is supposed to be discussed or what.  There are others too that contributed equal or more to Indian cricket.  Let us bring everyone else like VVS to the fore too and make this DG a place not to be one player centric.  So leave me alone I say.  I think what I am presenting here and posting has nothing to do with hero worship but very pertinent to the topic on hand.  On that note let us move on.

[ramshorns]

For those of you wanting to watch that VVS interview here is the link since it can get lost in these flurry of posts my debates will always tend to generate on the DG.

http://www.cricketvoice.com/cricketforum2/index.php/topic,18096.msg247993.html#msg247993

I watched the interview again. 

Within that three part interview posted the third one is what I would recommend the most because it shows on how at ease VVS was and articulated it so well on the disappointments of missing out on the WC and also most of the One day games.  That shows he knows how to answer the tough and difficult questions without ducking them.  After seeing that I am even more convinced that he has it in him to better the rest of the four of AK/SG/SRT/RD. 

After watching the interview Vijay one of the rare contributors here but very rich in sports knowledge on a variety of them had this comment or post on the same thread link I provided above.  Here it is.  Could not have said that any better myself.

--
Rams, What impresses me the most, is Laxman's sense of self. When complimented, he doesn't do that hypocritical humility thing- he knows what he is good at. Yet, he doesn't get too carried away with what he has accomplished either. Just, neat balance.

Also, thought the interviewer did a nice job. He wasn't about himself and he said just enough- to get Laxman to talk about things.

[LosingNow]

You saying he will be do good in TELUGU commentary clearly proves you having Accent as the primary criteria. 

one joke overrides everything substantive I have said. ... I wonder why?
..could it be that it does not fit your prejudice for VVS - a great test batsman who because he is a great batsman from Hyderabad and a person you grew up with .. is omnipotent & can do anything and everything right ie. he can bat well in any format (not!), can lead teams to championships (not!), can be a great commentator (not!)...and can walk on water !

[ramshorns]

You saying he will be do good in TELUGU commentary clearly proves you having Accent as the primary criteria. 

one joke overrides everything substantive I have said. ... I wonder why?
..could it be that it does not fit your prejudice for VVS - a great test batsman who because he is a great batsman from Hyderabad and a person you grew up with .. is omnipotent & can do anything and everything right ie. he can bat well in any format (not!), can lead teams to championships (not!), can be a great commentator (not!)...and can walk on water !

This response is enough to prove that I got under your skin a little bit.

I think I said VVS will be a good commentator not because he is from Hyderabad or I happen to like his batting but because he is sharp, knowledgeable and I provided the evidence and if someone looks at part 3 of his interview in specific they will atleast know where I am coming from.

Now where does the walking on water factor come into picture.

I and others think VVS has a decent shot at this thing and you think not and I strongly disagree with your line of reasoning on that and I said what I said.  Big deal.

[natty]

For general conversation, Manjrekar comes off poorly.. His english is halting, clearly accented, and he struggles to express himself (I doubt if he'd do any better in marathi).. Listen to his chat with Chappell on cricinfo..  At the end, IC clearly states that Bangladesh (no idea why they are considered better than associate level) got a free ride to the super 8s (which they declined to accept) and that the west indies, poor as they may be, are way better to be in such a draw.. Its that sort of, go out on a limb, opinion that our Indian commentators fear to express (I think good commentators must be fearless even if they are wrong on occasion.. its what makes them interesting). Regarding VVS, I think if his overall demeanour, knowledge, and general intelligence are fine, he shouldnt have a problem keeping up with the Manjrekars of this world or even surpassing them.

[broadbat]

Indian team looks red hot

Anil Kumble
Having all the 22 yards at your disposal as also the entire field in your vision is a whole lot different from watching the action on a small screen in front of you. Having to comment on what’s happening on that screen only is a tough ask. That is the first lesson I have learnt inside the commentary box.

Also getting used to a whole lot of stats thrown at you on the screen and picking only the ones relevant to what you are saying takes some doing, I can assure you. Multi-tasking while you are actually speaking is quite a challenge.

But I know it is only a question of getting used to it and here the help that I am getting from my co-commentators is most useful. On the plus side, and it is a big plus, the nice, warm commentary box is certainly the place to be, what with the English weather being quite chilly at the moment.

Whatever the chill, the Indian team is red hot, that’s for sure. I know they were nervous before their first match against Bangladesh, who as we all know can be a surprise package. Bangladesh can shock too as their defeat against Ireland on Monday showed.

Unexpected result
They are out of the tournament and this wasn’t expected. Before the match though, Ireland did look a very determined lot even as Bangladesh seemed to be a bit on the edge. It reflected in the result didn’t it, with Ireland making it to the Super Eight stage.

Coming back to the Indians, their nervousness was understandable. Being defending champions brings its own problems. And no matter how many practice matches you play or how many practice matches you win, they count for nothing. It’s only the real thing that matters.

To their credit, they did get off to a good start but the difference was clearly Yuvraj. Before he came in and took off, India seemed headed for a par score of 150-160 but Yuvi took it away from Bangladesh.

With the bowlers backing up the batting, a winning start was ensured.

I was a bit surprised though to see two spinners being fielded but not even for a moment am I complaining.

With Sehwag absent, the Indians went in for five bowlers and thus the second spinner got a look in. And, I for one liked the look of Pragyan Ojha.

The young man has quickly learnt that in the T20 format, a spinner has to slow the ball down. That combined with the tennis ball bounce of the Nottingham track did the trick.

Smashing knock
There was no trick to Chris Gayle’s batting though and it was all treat. His innings against Australia showed how just one man can take the game away from a team in this format.

No matter how good the bowlers were, how fast they were, Gayle had his answer.

Gayle’s knock and England qualifying for the next round a day later, will have served to keep the English crowd in good cheer. It always helps a tournament when the host team progresses.

Hawkeye Communications

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