Commentators in The Hundred: ECB has announced a star-studded 17-member commentary panel for The Hundred 2021.
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It was last night that the first match of a novel format in cricket titled “The Hundred” was played between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals. Playing at The Oval, hosts Invincibles won the first-ever match in the tournament by 5 wickets.
As far as the Men’s tournament is concerned, same oppositions will face each other at the same venue tonight to commence their tournament. Given how well the Women’s match was received by spectators and TV audiences yesterday, expect a similar response for tonight’s match which comprises of many players of the current national T20I side.
A primary reason why The Hundred is highly likely to allure eyeballs from across the world is the change in rules in the game which have come as a consequence of change in format. Despite being only 20 balls shorter than a T20 innings, The Hundred is differs from T20 cricket on many grounds.
Commentators in The Hundred 2021
An extravaganza of cricket in every sense, the experience of watching matches of The Hundred will be enhanced for TV audiences due to the presence of a star-studded 17-member commentary panel.
With the ECB eyeing to target new audience via The Hundred, commentators on all platforms have been advised to not complicate the sport. Furthermore, commentators will be heard explaining meanings of cricketing terms and slang in the simplest of language to make the sport simpler for first-time watchers.
“We veer towards more coverage of elite sport [than the BBC] but what we want to get away from is dressing room speak. Terminology like ‘bowling it into the pitch’ might need more of an explanation and commentators might have to challenge each other a bit.
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“But we don’t want to dumb down. It is about simplifying the game but keeping it classy,” Sky Sports Head of Cricket Bryan Henderson was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
Former England captains in Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain, who were part of Sky Sports’ commentary panel for ICC World Test Championship 2021, will continue to entertain TV viewers in The Hundred. Much like Atherton and Hussain, veteran India wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik will also switch formats in the commentary box.
Former England batsmen David Llyod and Kevin Pietersen, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, former West Indies captain Daren Sammy and veteran England pacer Stuart Broad are among other prominent names who will be calling the games in The Hundred.
Full list of Sky Sports commentators for The Hundred 2021
Commentators – David Lloyd, Ian Ward, Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Mark Butcher, Nick Knight, Ebony Rainford-Brent and Rob Key.
Guest commentators – Wasim Akram, Mel Jones, Kumar Sangakkara, Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad, Dinesh Karthik, Daren Sammy, Tammy Beaumont and Ledia Greenway.
Presenters – Andrew Flintoff, Kais Naidoo, Zainab Abbas and Jacqueline Shepherd.
