Then and Now

Then and Now – ACB 4

Then – (1986, Dec 5) Cricket stadium at sharjah
Wasim Akram Is to bowl his 5th ball. Imran instructs him to bowl properly. Akram is about to bowl. Yes, This time it is a slow ball. Azar on the other end is ready to hit. Positions himself better. Yes.. the Ball hits the bat. Power was the stroke when Azar hit it and it has gone up. Fielders in action Position themselves to catch it. Oh… It is still in air and slightly coming down. Yes. It is now down It hits the ground on the line. All eyes at field umpire. The umpire has no emotion. He is yet to decide on what to signal. Ya.. He finally signals a call for third umpire.
The third umpire figuring out on which camera output to look , finally traces and replays.
Ya it is a six. Umpires are yet to signal the decision.
Yes the Umpire signals a six. Oh… He also signals a no Ball.
Akram puts his head down and walks back.
Mr Toastmaster, fellow toastmaster and welcome guests,
The fraction of second the commentator not only pictures the field, but also gives an action happening there. This calls for good knowledge on the subject, Knowledge on the players and quickly narrating the same so that the listener gets the picture.
Radio is a wonderful invention by Marconi. In 1986 Cricket was gaining its prominence in India next to Hockey. Each house has a transistor which is used as a main media to listen to news, weather report and also the commentary of the cricket match.
Here the commentators play an important role as they need to explain the traversal of the ball from the origin (bowler’s hand) till the end. Every word is highly important so as to understand the game and visualize it. Also, it plays a major role for the cricket fans to understand the field position and the batsmen at the pavilion end. All what they hear will be reproduced to action that evening in their game. The Commentators clearly made it more exiting thru their emotions by increasing and decreasing their voice in line with each ball. Local language commentary too started becoming popular and commentators challenged the tough cricket terms and still were able to achieve the satisfaction in listeners.
“Ball flies… Yes it is about 20 feet high… Hope it crosses the boundary… Oh… It is in line… may be in… The bowler runs over and …. The ball hits the ground”
Each line has a good length for the Blood pressure for each fan to go up and down and without a clue on what is happening. This made fans to attend any match in large numbers and enjoy the action from a distant gallery. To enhance the visibility, each player wore a white and white trousers and shirt which kept them visible and the ball was red in color.
Today, the concept has changed. Radio has lost its prominence but still had opted to stay in, while television has gained its prominence.
Television has become prominent which requires high end cameras to capture the match from all directions. This called for the improvement in Camera to provide pictures with a level of detail. You may also see that the number of camera men is more than that of the players. Quality SLR cameras are fixed to capture the nuances of the each movement.
Today, commentator is uses his voice variety to a little. Commentary is no longer a stressful job. It is more an enjoyment and mistakes are easily pardoned. However, it has become highly stressful for the camera man. The number of camera men is higher than the cricket team playing in the ground. Capturing each moment in all perceptions has increased the Stress. People who are hearing do not have such a stress as they are able to see what they intend to.
Life has become much easier. The Qualifications to become a commentator has significantly come down as a person knowing cricket is enough. Everyone has an access to the Television where their knowledge can fill the rest. More analysis and better interpretation is done using technology.
Then - Knowledge was an asset, hard to earn and earning it gave us good respect. Now Knowledge is easily available at finger tips. Thanks to technology.
Mr. Toastmaster.