Shane Warne still loyal to Packer’s advice: Put viewers on the field

Shane Warne can still recall verbatim Kerry Packer’s advice to him 25 years ago.

Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist, among the star signings to the Fox Sports cricket commentary team. Picture: Michael Klein

It is has been more than 25 years since Kerry Packer signed Shane Warne for Channel 9’s cricket coverage, but the spin king can still recall verbatim the first advice the late media magnate drilled into him.

In an interview with Media, Warne said he intended to be as forthright as ever in his new role with Fox Sports, calling the game he loves without fear or favour as he recites the words of wisdom learnt long ago and still so vividly remembered.

“I remember the first thing Kerry Packer ever said to me when the commentary stuff got up: ‘Son, don’t treat me like a dummy. We cricket fans love cricket. I can see the TV, the pictures and what’s happening. Please don’t patronise me and tell me what I’ve seen. Tell me why it’s happening.’

“I try to stick to that. I don’t ­always get it right, but my mantra as a TV commentator is to try and take you out to the middle because, as Kerry also said: ‘I’ll never have a chance, son, so tell me what it’s like, so I can imagine what it would be like.’

“I always try and bring the viewer out into the middle for a sense of what it’s like, the tactics, what’s going on and what the options are for the captain. What it’s like to face a 160km/h ball from Shoaib Akhtar; what it’s like to face a spinner spinning both ways and you’ve got no idea.

“The plans the bowlers have to try and get the batsman out. I don’t always get that right. Sometimes I talk too much and sometimes I ­repeat myself to try and emphasise my point.

“I’m not saying I’m a ­Richie Benaud or Bill Lawry, the two greatest cricket commentators of all time.

“But I like to think that people still find me interesting to listen to, whether they are cricket lovers or not.”

Like the game of cricket itself, Warne’s commentary works on many levels, some analytical, some playful, but never holding anything back.

With a deep knowledge of the game and almost evangelical passion for how cricket should be played, Warne is never afraid to express an opinion, even when commentating on friends in the game.

He was part of the commentary team in South Africa when the ball-tampering scandal ­happened.

Cricketer Tony Greig with Kerry Packer at Dorchester hotel London in 1977.

Warne sensed a problem in the Australia camp when they started complaining about the opposition after things didn’t go their way.

“I don’t mind if people don’t like me, but it’s more important to be respected,” Warne said. “The way you conduct yourself, what you do, and how you play the game and what you stand for. For me, over the last few years the Australian cricket team has probably whinged a bit too much about ­opposition teams. They haven’t just got on with it.

“What do we stand for? What’s our style of play? How do we want to play the game? Do we want the Australian public to respect us? That all comes down to the way they play the game.

“We want to play the Australian way: fair, hard, tough, uncompromising cricket in the right spirit and at the end of the day shake the hands of the opposition and say: ‘You were too good today. Well done, let’s have a beer.’

“We all want to be proud of the Australian team but it will take a bit of time. At Fox Sports, we can do our bit to help out, too.”

For almost three decades, Warne broadcast to the sound of leather on willow at Nine, developing into a distinguished and respected commentator on the game. Now the greatest bowler in Australian history will play a pivotal role in a new era for the game as Cricket Australia severs ties with Nine more than 40 years after Packer revolutionised the sport.

Warne said it was important to recognise the contribution of a broadcaster that provided the game’s main source of income over a long period, which has adapted to changing circumstances, and which has been a true supporter of the sport.

“I thought the last few years on Channel 9 were great. I thought they really did do a great job. The other thing is that no one has given as much money to the game of cricket over 40 years as Channel 9. Everyone owes Channel 9 a lot, not just from World ­Series Cricket and the Packers.”

After Cricket Australia agreed to a record-breaking $1.182 billion, six-year media broadcast deal with Fox Sports and Seven Network in April, Warne quickly became the most sought after signature in the commentary wars.

Shane Warne.

He will play a leading role in Foxtel’s new 24/7 cricket channel on Fox Sports, commentating across international fixtures and the Big Bash League. Warne has joined former teammates Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Allan Border, Brendon Julian and Michael Hussey in a line-up that also includes 2005 Ashes rival Michael Vaughan, World Cup winner Isa Guha and Mel Jones.

The 145-Test veteran said the decision to leave Nine was one of the hardest he had ever had to make as he fielded lucrative offers from not just Fox Sports, but also Nine and Seven.

“I was very lucky and grateful to Channel 9, Channel 7 and Fox Sports for all putting in substantial offers,” Warne said. “I nearly didn’t leave Channel 9 because I am a very loyal person by nature and they’ve been very good to me through the ups and downs. Twenty-five years is a long time with a network.”

As unlikely as it might seem to anyone who only knows Warne for his cricketing prowess and colourful love life, talks between Warne and Nine centred on ­potential commentating roles at the Australian Open and Masters Tournament.

“There were plenty of things I could have done at Nine, new TV shows as well. But in the end I made a call after speaking to Steve Crawley [head of television] and a few other people at Fox about how they want to revolutionise commentary.”

Fox Sports has vowed to take cricket to new heights with technological innovations, on-screen enhancements, behind-the-scenes coverage and agenda-setting analysis, much like it has with the NFL and AFL in recent years, and before that, the Big Bash League.

In December 2011, when Warne took the field for the Melbourne Stars in his Big Bash League debut, fans tuned in and the event won much-needed media coverage.

That Warne’s then partner, British actor Liz Hurley, was in the stands was also a bonus for this newest form of cricket.

In another twist, Warne was miked, so Fox Sports viewers were able to hear him talk about his strategy for getting batsmen out via a direct line to a couple of hundred thousand TV viewers.

Now, seven years after Fox sprinkled some magic dust on the BBL, Warne excitedly reveals he has some ideas of his own to shake up the broadcast.

But he rules out a suggestion about putting cameras in the dressing room.

“There’s a fine line between what is sacred to the players,” Warne said. “The players really only have their dressing room. That’s the only place when they are not on show or getting pulled pillar to post for interviews or signing autographs for the public. You still want a bit of mystery about what it’s like in the dressing room.

“I’d like to see the next batsman in being interviewed quickly. Imagine if I was sitting interviewing, let’s say, Shaun Marsh ... ‘Well, Shaun, you’re next in. Jimmy Anderson is bowling one end. Stuart Broad the other. What are you thinking?

“He goes, ‘Well this ball is bouncing a little bit more at the moment. It’s a bit quick, it’s still new, it’s a tricky situation, so hopefully these guys get a partnership.’ And I say, ‘Well, okay. Oh shit, he’s gone. You’re in Shaun, so I’ll let you go.’ ”

Warne has even given consideration to how this innovation could work from a production perspective.

“It’s really important that the person interviewing in that situation does not ask too many questions, to listen to what they’re saying and just let them talk. And then get out. Just in and out. It should just be one ball. ­Either side of a ball. Two balls maybe, max. There is certainly room for exciting new innovations.”

Of the current crop of commentators Warne works with around the world at Sky Sports in the UK and Star TV in Asia, he nominates former ­England captain Nasser Hussain and former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith as his top picks.

“Nasser is a very good analyser of the game of cricket. Ian is a terrific commentator and one of the best, if not the best, going around at the moment. Mark Waugh is a very good commentator. I like Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Isa Guha and Mel Jones. Fox have assembled a very good team, which is diverse and interesting.”