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Ray Warren cannot be replaced, in the sense that his background and history are unique, rising out of the primordial murk of 1970s midweek competitions and being fired and replaced by Rex Mossop.
No one else can lay claim to those credentials.
Unfortunately for all of us, Rabs will go one day, of his own volition this time and we can be sure that Ray Hadley will not become Channel 9′s primary commentator.
Need I explain why? Surely not, but just to be safe.
The man is a leaden caller. Scant sense of humour, precious little insight and an outsized sense of self-importance.
So who will take the chair?
I’m still perplexed at Andrew Voss’ departure from Nine.
‘Tis a pity he offended the execs upstairs with the whole Ray Warren statue brouhaha.
He brings a stimulating blend of high energy, intelligence and terrific humour to what he does.
At least we can celebrate the fact that he has replaced Dale Husband as the Warriors play-by-play man, although I must admit to my fair share of delighted giggles over Husband’s pronunciation of the Maori players’ names.
Maybe Voss will find redemption if league ever moves to another network. At least the Warriors are consistently fun to watch. Occasionally they even win a game.
I heard Tim Gilbert for the first time last weekend, during City-Country. The man has a big future in welding.
So who?
My pick is Dan Ginnane. Mr.Ginnane is one of the most charismatic personalities in sports broadcasting- I am a regular listener to The Rush Hour and Deadset Legends.
I don’t listen to his commentary because I’m too busy watching the games on television, but the snippets I’ve heard are lively and insightful.
He works well with Peter Sterling and has the capacity to create chemistry with his co-commentators, a quality glaringly absent in Mr.Hadley.
While we’re at it, it’s time for Darren Lockyer and Wally Lewis to go. No valuable insight. Nada. They are men who can do but not teach and lack the saving grace of personality, something Paul Vautin (and now Brad Fittler) offered in abundance.
Is any of this important? Well, actually- yes. With the size of the television viewing audience far greater than that in the stands, it’s vital that the people telling the story on TV do it in an engaging manner.
I don’t think anyone would argue that a significant portion of Nine’s success in cricket over the last 35 years is due to its commentary team. In a game much shorter in duration like league that may not count for as much, but do we want to hear Ray Hadley or Tim Gilbert two nights a week for seven months?
Maybe Rabs will go on forever. Maybe we can clone and reproduce him, like some sort of League-loving, vowel-stretching, Gus-baiting cyborg who knows how to incant Sironen! with just the right amount of shock and awe.
In the event that we can’t, it’s Ginnane or Voss. And no, Tom Waterhouse, don’t even think about it.
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