An ode to Danny Morrison, T20 commentary pioneer

CHRIS SMITH: He is not the first ‘quirky’ commentator. Henry Blofeld made a career out of observing pigeons, David Lloyd spends much of his time on T20 Blast games singing Sweet Caroline. He is endeared for it. Blofeld was. But not Morrison

This is about recognition. Recognition of one man and recognition of a group of cricket fans who fear for their safety as much as those who secretly like The Hundred.

Every spring cricket supporters in their scores will let out moans of anguish. They will yell expletives, they will make acerbic comments, they may even mute their televisions.

But Danny Morrison doesn’t deserve this. And his fans don't deserve it either.

Morrison is what the IPL sets out to be. There are garish kits; the foiled sponsors logos which each year seem to grow to the point at which they might as well be given to marathon runners at the finish line; numbers of cheerleaders to match a 1990s Superbowl and more flame throwers than a black market arms fair. It is decadent, it is over the top. The organisers want it to be. The fans don’t seem to mind. Crowds are large and loud.

^{Danny Morrison, right, splits opinion of cricket fans}

It is also a spectacle many fans enjoy watching on TV. They are happy to soak up the heat of those flame throwers and let pass the countless made-up adjectives plastered on the big screen. They are just as content watching a hapless left-armer who now knows bowling seam-up on a length in the IPL is the equivalent of Mark Pettini's declaration pies.

But they do not enjoy Morrison.

He is not the first ‘quirky’ commentator. Henry Blofeld made a career out of observing pigeons, David Lloyd has an infallible reputation but spends most of his time on T20 Blast games singing Sweet Caroline. He is endeared for it. Blofeld was. But not Morrison.

YouTubing ‘Danny Morrison commentary’ comes up with highlights reels totalling hundreds of thousands of views – and that’s just to listen to someone commentate. A six evoking the line: “This one’s got an air hostess on it” has been watched 187,000 times

He knows what he is there to do, though. A bit like the football manager Mick McCarthy – who attracts similar levels of diatribe – you may not like him but he gets the job done. In among what can be a featureless commentary team, Morrison provides the energy, attention-grabbing gestures (who didn’t enjoy his laid-down pitch report) and turns of phrase of which Alan Wilkins could only dream.

The man on the moon has likely never been given forewarning about a cricket ball, and seldom has the magnitude of a six been so gloriously described as Suresh Raina’s. But Morrison pulled it off. His diction, his intonation, the emphasis he places on certain words, it brings something else to what can be a bit of a blur of sixes and mishits.

YouTubing ‘Danny Morrison commentary’ comes up with highlights reels totalling hundreds of thousands of views – and that’s just to listen to someone commentate. A six evoking the line: “This one’s got an air hostess on it” has been watched 187,000 times. Go and find a video with Sanjay Manjrekar commentating with such popularity.

Morrison during his playing days

I challenge the naysayers. What is closing your mind to accepting Morrison as a family favourite? Why not embrace and enjoy the quirks Morrison offers? There were 872 sixes in IPL 2018 – we do not need to hear the word ‘MAXIMUM’ shouted by all and sundry until it has lost all meaning. We need to start adding to the commentary vocabulary, and in that respect Morrison is a pioneer.

T20 is a serious business nowadays, without taking itself too seriously. The same outlook should be applied to Morrison; there are plenty more issues to get in a huff about both in and out of the cricket world.

There is an intelligent cricketer behind the voice after all. He took 160 Test wickets and in his final Test, at Auckland in 1996/97, batted 166 minutes, facing 133 balls for 14 runs in a partnership of 106 to help Nathan Astle save the match against England. His Twitter bio simply reads “sports commentator, Level III coach.” He is a measured man who knows how to put on a show.

So don’t fall into the lazy cliché of taking a cheap shot at an exuberant individual, just appreciate someone is as excitable as a newborn Westie about a game which we all love, despite its propensity to suffer no end of gunshot wounds to the foot.