On screen
Seven, complete with headline acts Ricky Ponting and Ashes villain Stuart Broad, and Fox Cricket, led by Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh, a still-fresh commentary new boy in David Warner, and the experienced Michael Vaughan, are promising the most in-depth match-day coverage they have presented.
David Warner will be alongside his old foe Broad in the commentary box.Credit: Getty Images
This includes auxiliary shows to ensure fans remain engrossed in what has been billed as the biggest Ashes series on Australian soil since 2006-07.
Broad is the summer’s big-name recruit, and fellow Seven expert commentator and former Australian batter Simon Katich says he will be worth every cent. Broad’s remit is to bring unique insight into bowling, and the same strong opinions he had when playing and accumulating 604 Test wickets – the fifth most of all time.
If there is one guarantee about the summer ahead, it’s that Broad will make a splash on TV at Seven and on radio at SEN.
“To have that unique input on technique and also mindset, it does bring a different perspective,” Katich says.
“He does speak very well, and he sees the game very well. Look, there is no doubt he will be forthright in his opinion as he was as a player. I think our team embraces that – we are all different in a way.”
Broad, for his part, says he looks forward to the “banter” with his Australian comrades.
“I can’t wait to be in the Seven commentary box to witness what will be another epic Ashes Series played in the right spirit, as all Ashes are. Aren’t they?” Broad said.
“To have the opportunity to call the Ashes alongside a group of Australian cricket’s greatest ever batsmen in Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer is a genuine treat, and I look forward to enjoying some healthy banter, paired with expert analysis between us all.”
Broad has already delivered on that healthy banter, declaring this current Australian team is the worst since the side which lost the 2010-11 series on home soil. Ouch.
The typically measured Gilchrist, Australia’s greatest ever wicketkeeper-batsman, says viewers now expect commentators to express themselves – much like he did with the bat in his pomp.
“Whatever you say to your English mates in an Ashes series, that’s the same in the commentary box,” Gilchrist said. “The days of being completely balanced, where you can’t let your personality come through, have probably gone. You can’t turn into a barracker but, if the excitement level goes up, so be it – even with Isa and Vaughan in the box.
Legendary all-rounder: Ian Botham has been a prominent Ashes figure for almost 50 years.
“If Joe Root scores a hard-fought 100 this year, I will celebrate that. And that goes both ways.”
Radio booth
Radio networks Triple M, the ABC and SEN have also unveiled blue-chip ball-by-ball commentators and former greats of the game. Triple M this week revealed it had signed Ian Botham, a larger-than-life presence who was such a force that the unforgettable 1981 series has forever been badged Botham’s Ashes.
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Botham told this masthead he looked forward to working alongside Merv Hughes, the former larrikin Australian quick.
“How can you not have a good time when you are co-commenting with those other guys – Merv, Brad [Haddin], the list goes on. It’s great fun,” he said.
SEN, led by chief caller Gerard Whateley, will also turn to Broad, while Ian Healy, the former Australian gloveman, is another who has never been afraid to speak his mind.
Network chief executive Craig Hutchison said securing Broad was a coup, as “he brings global gravitas and unmatched insight to an already-knowledgeable broadcast team”.
In Darren Lehmann, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark and Jason Gillespie, the ABC has gold-plated expert coverage alongside lead callers Corbin Middlemas and the doyen himself, Jim Maxwell. Maxwell will have his own Jim’s Ashes Special podcast alongside the usual ABC Cricket podcast.
“There is always banter, but it’s more about the history of the series. There is a continuity of banter with the Ashes,” Maxwell, preparing for what he estimates is his 20th Ashes series, says.
Missing the King
Smooth caller Mark Howard, also a leading voice on Fox Cricket, said Shane Warne’s absence will be felt. This will be the first home Ashes series since the Australian great – and former Fox frontman – died.
“It will be strange doing an Ashes without Warnie. He had so much passion for beating England. Alongside ‘Junior’ [Waugh], I’ve never worked with experts who can tell you what is going to happen before it happens,” Howard said.
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“The King would love it when he predicted the demise of an English player and then it happened. But both Shane and Mark absolutely love to see aggression and positivity on the field, so this English team is right up their alley.”
Technology
Fox Cricket says it will deliver more innovation, greater analysis and refreshed on air graphics to ensure viewers are locked in. This includes Fox Focus, a next-generation telestrator technology that provides real-time player and field-tracking analysis, allowing commentators to position graphics, and measure and highlight over live pictures to deliver deeper analysis.
Seven has also upgraded, with the touchscreen analysis segments led by Trent Copeland to be aided by new technology from industry leaders Hawkeye and Quidich. The network says this will take “fans right into the middle of the ground through the eyes of the batter”. Seven has also introduced StiQy, which will allow for live graphics on any player, on any camera, in real time, allowing commentators to better track the movements of players.
Behind the scenes
Howard, also an experienced AFL caller, said in series with such great emotion it was best for commentators to take the safe forward defensive position.
“The key to broadcasting a series that invokes as much passion as this is to leave your bias at the door, as hard as that can be at times,” Howard said.
Mel McLaughlin will have hosting duties as part of Seven’s Ashes team, which includes Ricky Ponting and James BrayshawCredit: Seven
“Fox Cricket, being the host feed, is being broadcast to the world, including England, so it can’t be cheerleading for the Aussies. Behind the scenes though, the amount of stick flying around in the Fox team involves far more sledging than on field.”
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Ponting, the former Australian captain who knows what it’s like to win and lose Ashes series, is arguably the best in the business when it comes to dissecting events before our eyes, and predicting what happens next.
“I’ve lived and breathed Ashes cricket my whole career. The build-up, the pressure, the passion – it’s unlike anything else,” Ponting said.
“What makes the Ashes so special is that everyone feels part of it. We’ll be bringing viewers closer than ever, with every ball, every moment, every bit of drama.”
Botham summed up the overarching mood.
“Bring it on – let’s get the gladiators out there,” he said.
While he was referring to the two playing teams, he could well have been talking about the stars off it.
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