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Ian Healy's commentary

Random Aussie

Random Aussie

Senior Test Player
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Runs
28,699
Long time readers would know of my general dislike for Ian and his horrific commentary. He hit a new low the other day, and I quote:

"Why doesn't Ross Taylor lay his bat down and do a Haka for us? Hey? A bit of Cummety Hummety?"

To go with the time he was caught on camera miming a violin player during a breast cancer promotion:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...-no-cancer-slur/2007/02/09/1170524288159.html

And recent efforts to blame the players partners for the Ashes loss:

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...-wags-for-ashes-disaster-20150807-gitw4r.html

I accept that Ian doesn't possess a great deal of insight into his actions but the Haka comment is one of the most cringeworthy and breaktakingly arrogant things I have heard a commentator say.
 
Definitely not the brightest tool in the shed.

The guys around him make it easier to drown out his absurd comments.

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I don't get the hate tbh I find Healy and co pretty funny :))
 
Healy is a beast in commie box. An uncontrollable beast.

During his playing days, I never wanted him to get out. He was a total dud with the bat.
 
Never likes Healy as a commentator. His biased commentating is annoying to the say the least. There are quite a few instances on blogs ranting about his commentary. Why Channel 9 won't get rid of him I don't know.
 
SunTzu said:
Never likes Healy as a commentator. His biased commentating is annoying to the say the least. There are quite a few instances on blogs ranting about his commentary. Why Channel 9 won't get rid of him I don't know.
Click to expand...

Channel 9 literally do not care what the viewers think of their commentary.
 
Healy is terrible. It's always a relief for me when his stint is over.

But as evidenced by a few posts in this thread, some people like him.
 
Healy is just a bit of a joker and is quite good at keeping things alive during the cricket, not so good if you take things too serious though.
 
Gilly said:
Healy is just a bit of a joker and is quite good at keeping things alive during the cricket, not so good if you take things too serious though.
Click to expand...

There's a line for that sort of thing and I think with the haka comments Healy crossed it. It might not be the most offensive thing you could say but it is totally unprofessional. A commentator whose voice is going out all over the world should not say something like that. You could get away with it down the pub with your mates, but not on live television.
 
Also I read an account about Healy going on a massive rant about Curtly Ambrose's lips last year during one of the pre-match shows in the test series against India. Now of course no video of it exists online and hardly anyone knows about it because it was on the pre-match show an hour before play started, but I have no doubt it was said knowing the character of the man and his propensity to make idiotic comments (maybe without malicious intent - he could just be stupid and not understand the implications of his words), despite the lack of empirical evidence to prove it.

He said of Ambrose's lips that they were enormous, looked like tyres, and probably scared his own children.

Then again he probably still holds a grudge against Curtly for this :uakmal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjKKwx91P4I
 
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Pantani said:
Also I read an account about Healy going on a massive rant about Curtly Ambrose's lips last year during one of the pre-match shows in the test series against India. Now of course no video of it exists online and hardly anyone knows about it because it was on the pre-match show an hour before play started, but I have no doubt it was said knowing the character of the man and his propensity to make idiotic comments (maybe without malicious intent - he could just be stupid and not understand the implications of his words), despite the lack of empirical evidence to prove it.

He said of Ambrose's lips that they were enormous, looked like tyres, and probably scared his own children.

Then again he probably still holds a grudge against Curtly for this :uakmal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjKKwx91P4I
Click to expand...

Hahahaha love how he runs away with his hand on crotch.

Very insensitive comment.
 
Pantani said:
There's a line for that sort of thing and I think with the haka comments Healy crossed it. It might not be the most offensive thing you could say but it is totally unprofessional. A commentator whose voice is going out all over the world should not say something like that. You could get away with it down the pub with your mates, but not on live television.
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Crossed what line, talk about political correctness. The only people that would have taken offense to that are people that go to extremes to get offended so they can complain.
 
Gilly said:
Crossed what line, talk about political correctness. The only people that would have taken offense to that are people that go to extremes to get offended so they can complain.
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The 90s rang and want their tired right wing argument back.


You are right who would take offence over some pumped up fool wanting an islander to dance for his entertainment.
 
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Gilly said:
Crossed what line, talk about political correctness. The only people that would have taken offense to that are people that go to extremes to get offended so they can complain.
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It's not political correctness, it's about professionalism.

I admit that I crack racist and racialist jokes targeting all races, very often. But I do so in the private company of close friends alone, so that it is clear that I'm only kidding around, and so that my remarks don't reach the ears of somebody who would find them derogatory. I agree with you that nothing is above having a laugh at, whether it's somebody's war dance or it's somebody's lips, if you find it amusing then by all means go ahead and laugh about it.

However there is a time and place for it, and any kind of professional setting is obviously highly inappropriate. Any kind of setting outside of sharing a private joke with some mates, that's not acceptable. Nobody wants to tune in to the cricket to hear that sort of thing.
 
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My dislike for him goes back over a decade when he guested shortly after retiring during one of India's miserable tours to Aus. But that was then, and as an older person now, I just find him comical and clownish.

But as a paid professional, the Taylor comment is pathetic. Him playing the violin can be overlooked because that was not meant to be seen and is more reflective of his mentality as a human being.

He should be at least given some training about what he can and cannot say. When Khawaja debuted, I recall him referring to him as 'the Pakistani.'
 
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If you want to talk about Ian Healy, why don't you talk about something else?

The Australian off-spinner Tim May told the-then Australian Cricket Board that he had been approached (in the presence of Shane Warne) by Salim Malik to throw the First Test in Karachi in 1994-95.

Neither Warne nor May had reported the alleged illegal approach at or close to the time.

The thing is, Pakistan actually did win the Test match, in almost impossible circumstances. Requiring a near-impossible 314 to win, they were on the verge of defeat at 258-9 before Mushtaq Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq (both of whom were later found guilty of obstruction by the Qayyum Commission) put on an improbable last wicket partnership of 67 to win the match by 1 wicket. Until the final over, barely a ball was bowled on target. Glenn McGrath wasn't given the ball by Mark Taylor at all, Tim May didn't bowl at all to the last wicket pair and almost every single over was bowled by either Shane Warne - who never reported the illegal approach - or by Jo Angel, in just his second Test.

And the winning runs came when Ian Healy, the world's best wicketkeeper, missed an easy stumping and the batsmen ran byes after the ball went through Healy's legs.

I have always wondered the following......

1. Just because Tim May refused the bribe and eventually reported Salim Malik's bribery attempt, does it follow that all the other Australians did too?

2. Can you take at face value a 67 run last wicket partnership to win a Test?
 
The Taylor comment was stupid. Down the Pub with your mates u can say that. Not when you are broadcasting for an international audience. Healy just comes across as an uneducated buffoon. As much as people wanna rebel against PC its the environment that is prevalent in the public and professional sphere nowadays. There was literally no need to make that Taylor comment and i doubt he would have said tjat about a white Nzer. Did he say it to KW when he made his ton. It was just a lame comment with racist undetrtones.

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If i was a channel 9 boss i would just have a quiet word with Healy saying calm down and cut it out mate.

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Am surprised Healy never said to Khawaja bow down on the turf. Pray your allah akbar.

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Pantani said:
One thing I find strange is that only the rugby team performs the haka. Why don't NZ's other sports international sides do it?
Click to expand...

Their Basketball team have started doing it too now.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zDucvQYlWj4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Its symptomatic of the astonishing unprofessionalism of the Channel 9 commentary team. Its become Top Gear on steroids. Jarrod Kimber rightly described them as embarrassing dads. I don't give a toss about Warne's poker career or what fancy dress party he turned up to last night. Benaud-Greig-Lawry-Chappell of course had their light hearted moments but never did they act like drunken oafs at Happy Hour down the pub on the air.

"Phwoar look at that Slats, helluva a lot going on here Warney eh ? Lads must be feeling thirsty tonight. 'Ere Tugga, remember that time back in the 90s when we were lads and did all those lad things, haha great banter mate, here who's that playing for the oppo ? Ah screw it come on you Aussies."

I hope at the very least they can rope Ponting and Clarke in as they actually, shock horror, want to talk about the cricket in an intelligent manner.
 
Pantani said:
One thing I find strange is that only the rugby team performs the haka. Why don't NZ's other sports international sides do it?
Click to expand...

Thats because thats the only sport they have consistently been really good/world beaters in. Would be kinda embarrassing to perform a war dance and then get you **** handed to you every other match.
 
My oldest memory of Healy was a cricket card with big fun which had 195 catches from 165 matches.. think it was ODI.

As a kid i wasted lot of my brain cells on cards :facepalm:
 
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