Move over Richie, the clowns are here!

For cricket fans used to the joy of watching quality cricket shows and listening to excellent analysis and commentary on Channel Nine and Sky broadcasts, the IPL coverage will indeed come as a shocking aberration. Undoubtedly, the overall standard of cricket coverage has dropped in the last ten years. This is mostly due to a spurt in the number of ex-cricketers and so-called cricket show anchors (read models, VJs etc). Admittedly the lady hosts are hot, but I cannot fathom the need for these skimpily clad girls to step up and enlighten the world with their extraordinary cricket 'acumen'. They might just as well cavort in the stands or somewhere outside which will at least regale viewers who are least interested in listening to the nonsensical conversations in the studio.

Because I run the risk of being branded sexist or chauvinistic, I hereby start with a disclaimer. There are quite a few girls/ladies who are knowledgeable about the game and are definitely not the ones I am referring to in this piece. I am in fact fortunate to know many of them. I also am not critical of the ones who do not like sports. After all it is their choice. It is the ones in between who do not quite know which way to go. They have boyfriends who love sports or claim to. Hence the girls decide it is best to demonstrate interest in the same lest they end up being left out of the groups. A classic example of the same is when i notice scores of girls in sports bars clueless while watching a Manchester United football game. Now do these girls care to know about the legacy of the club or its rich past. Do they have the slightest idea about the great trio, the Munich disaster or Nou Camp 1999. I bet not. Why then turn up there and stare at the screen? The reason a comedy show like the IPL is successful is because it is targeted at such a population. They don't know much, don't care to know much, don't appreciate the finer aspects and have only a faint idea about the game in general.

I have had enough of listening to these pretentious girls talk about Nadal's posterior and Federer's cut looks. Instead of appreciating the fantastic rivalry and the nature of the contests, they reduce the sport to such a meaningless concept. Messi's hair, Ronaldo's relationships take precedence over their skills and the history of the El Clasico. Well, the IPL is after all bloody entertainment and nothing else. So I can't really expect the brilliance of Test Match Special analysis there. But then the ones who are responsible should realise the fact that the game is being corrupted and adulterated with these ignoramuses trying to pass off as experts. Why on earth did cricket have to get to all this?

I don't think the ones i spoke about are going to ever know the history, listen to Benaud wax lyrical about Holding's silky action or appreciate classic Test match finishes. Neither are these 'smart' girls (lots of guys also fall in this category) going to understand, analyse and appreciate the nuances of football and tennis. But I hope this piece does hammer a fact into these girls' heads. We guys may ogle and think about girls more often than not BUT when it comes to sports and related discussions, we clearly prefer intelligent analysis to shameless exposure and ignorant opinions.