Originally Posted by The Difference:
“Sunday 16th May - talkSPORT
Neil Manthorp presenting World Twenty20 Final Live alongside Jack Bannister
Cricket: ICC World Twenty20 Final
England v Australia - Ronnie Irani, Darren Gough, Neil Manthorp, Ian Danter, Rupert Bell and Jack Bannister (commentary)”
Some more specific details about today's World Twenty20 Final commentary:
Neil Manthorp anchored talkSPORT's coverage but didn't commentate. He presented the half hour build-up, the 15 minutes after the conclusion of the match, between the change of innings and during a lull in play when there was a problem with the side screens.
Their commentary pairings were Ian Danter and Ronnie Irani (overs 1 to 5 and 11 to 15 in both innings), Rupert Bell and Darren Gough (overs 6 to 10 in both innings and 16 to 20 in the Australian innings) and Irani and Gough (over 16 to the end of the England innings).
Jack Bannister wasn't commentating as such but he chipped in to offer analysis about two or three times during each of the five over commentary stints. He also was used in the punditry role during the bits Manthorp was presenting.
Personally, I really enjoyed the talkSPORT coverage - in particular I thought Ian Danter was superb. As far as I know he'd never covered cricket professionally until today, but having read interviews with him it's clear he's a big cricket fan and his enthusiasm for and knowledge of the game shone through.
Not sure why they paired Ronnie and Goughy at the end, perhaps something was up with Rupert - I noticed his voice was struggling at points during his commentary stints - or maybe it was by design as they wanted to have both their "star names" on at the conclusion.
Otherwise I thought the pairings were sensible with the two main commentators matched with the summarisers. However it was quite a contrast to hear the incredibly posh Bell matched with Goughy, who is ever so slightly less well spoken!
For those who like to know this kind of thing, to my ears it sounded as if they were using the official stadium feed rather than canned crowd noises.
I have one criticism of talkSPORT's coverage today as I'd have liked it if they'd have stayed on air for a phone-in or some kind of reaction for a little while afterwards rather than crossing straight to the Sports Bar at 8pm. Given that Manthorp can't have been on-air for more than an hour max, it might have been worth his while to keep him on to do a special Cricket Show between 8-10pm like the ones he did last summer.
Anyone know how BBC Radio 4 LW/Five Live covered the final?