The gods of commentary listened, cricket The fans' wishes are Ricky Ponting behind the microphoneThe former Australian captain will lead a star-studded squad that includes former World Cup winners and white-ball specialists. Groundbreaking T20 World Cup next month.
For the first time in ICC history, a major tournament will be played on American soil in partnership with co-hosts the West Indies, with 55 matches being played across nine venues over 28 days.
Cricket's governing body, which controls international broadcasting, has called on the sport's biggest names to help bring the matches to millions of fans. Australian viewers via Prime VideoThough he may be a polarizing figure among cricket fans, Ponting is widely considered to be unparalleled as a commentator.
Ponting's deep understanding of cricket, his cricket IQ and his ability to predict game moments before they happen have earned him fans around the world. “Ponting seems to know what's going to happen almost every ball. His cricket commentary is like watching a replay,” one viewer wrote earlier this season.
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The batting great recently explained his approach to T20 commentary. He said: “It's great (to be able to sit and analyse the match and have a bit of fun). People who want to watch T20 matches want to be entertained.”
“They're not just thinking about what's going to happen with this ball, how the team is going to bat, who should bowl the next over, etc. They want us to enjoy the game a little bit.”
The World Cup commentary team will have a strong Australian flavour. Ponting will be joined by former teammate Matthew Hayden, former Australia captain Steve Smith, former Australia ODI captain Aaron Finch and former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody. “I'm proud to have led Australia to victory in 2021 and know it took a lot of hard work to win in this demanding format. I'm looking forward to bringing my experience as a player to commentate during the tournament,” said Finch.
Cricketing giants Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Ian Bishop, Ian Smith, Wasim Akram, Mike Atherton, Shaun Pollock, Carlos Brathwaite and Waqar Younis are also in the line-up. Australian Test batsman Usman Khawaja is Prime Video's official T20 World Cup ambassador.
Steve Smith's move to the commentary booth is a further indication that he is likely to move into media work once he retires. The World Cup kicks off on Sunday (Australian Eastern Standard Time) with co-hosts the United States facing Canada. Australia's first match is against Oman on June 6.
