Fox Cricket honours late commentary legends, unveils enhanced coverage innovations

Fox cricket will honour their two late commentary legends as commentary captain Adam Gilchrist channels his great mate Shane Warne in bringing the team together.

The spirit of Shane Warne will be revived in Perth when many of the Spin King’s former mates assemble at the house of Adam Gilchrist for the sort of gathering he once made famous.

Warne and the late Andrew Symonds might be irreplaceable figures, but Fox Cricket has determined the best way to honour their memory, is to take the coverage to a new level this summer.

As Fox prepares to unveil a stream of innovations which will bring rare insights and never-before access for fans into the game’s hidden subtleties, Gilchrist is taking his role as commentary captain to heart to recognise the importance of being together, after such an emotionally testing year.

The Gilchrist dinner is a tribute to Warne’s iconic Boxing Day function in Melbourne, when the legendary leg-spinner would invite celebrities, cricketers and old mates to his house where he fed and watered them on what was considered one of the great nights of the tour.

On and off the air this summer, Warne and Symonds are gone but not forgotten.

“Warnie when we went to Melbourne each year, he always took everyone around to his place for dinner and it was elaborate. He was such a sharing guy and he really put on a great show with caterers. It was just unbelievable how generous he was,” said Fox Sports chief, Steve Crawley.

Andrew Symonds portrait commissioned by Fox Cricket

“The second night in Perth, Gilly and his wife Mel are having us around to his place.

“We’ve always said we never want to capitalise off Warnie and Roy’s deaths. But at the same time we want to lift and they’re a big part of why we will lift.

“We want to be better. We don’t want to cover for them. We actually want to be better.

“We want to be considered in all of our commentary.

“People will say, ‘yeah, good on you,’ and say, this is a publicity stunt. But this is the way we think.

“Everyone understands what Warnie means to the team, and Andrew Symonds.

“Mark Waugh is a tough bugger. He quietly comes and does his job and leaves. But I’ve noticed he’s given a lot more of himself and I actually called him and congratulated him. And he knows. He knows as a team we’ve got to lift and he’s shown great leadership.

“I’m so impressed with these guys. It’s brought the best out of them.”

Ahead of a Symonds tribute at the Gabba Test, Fox Cricket has commissioned a portrait of the late Australian all-rounder and Fox Cricket commentator by the same artist Sid Tapia who painted a Warne mural at the studios in Melbourne.

INNOVATIONS

VOICE OF…

Fox Cricket is once again breaking new ground by putting world class microphones on players during the Test series which will take fans closer to the heart of the action than ever before.

So far this summer, Fox has already released insightful audio and video packages on David Warner, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith and will feature even more players during the up-coming Test summer against the West Indies and South Africa.

The Warner Voice Of was captured during Australia’s pre-World Cup T20 series against the West Indies and has done over a million views on twitter and facebook after it showcased an on-field apology Aaron Finch made to him, showcasing the internal battle the Aussie captain was fighting at the time to find World Cup form.

When Smith declared, “I’m back baby” in Adelaide, Fox was able to go to him on the field two overs later via Flying Fox, where he explained the shot and his excitement.

“Nowhere in the cricketing world does that and we’re so proud of that,” said Crawley.

BAT TRACKING

Fox will also unveil Bat Tracking this summer, which is the brainchild of executive producer Brad McNamara and has been years in the making.

Bat Tracker is able to judge the angle of the bat, the speed of the bat, the point of impact and then the speed of the ball after the point of impact.

Viewers will see a graphic where a Steve Smith cover drive will light up like he’s brandishing a sword and show the timing and power of the master batsman.

“Three years ago it was a real big deal to get the speed out of the hand. Now we’re past that by so far, we can track the speed of the ball all the way to the boundary,” said Crawley.

MURAL TRACKING

Like face recognition on your phone, mural tracking will be able to identify individual players from the gait of their walk and then track them anywhere they move in the field.

“Now we’re tracking fielders in live time,” said head of Fox Cricket, Matt Weiss.

“Players don’t have to wear a GPS, and we can still tell in real time how far Mitchell Starc has run and at what speeds over the course of a day.”

WARNER’S SOBERING WARNING FOR AUSSIE YOUNG GUN

David Warner has advised Cameron Green to seriously consider snubbing the IPL’s millions next year as the youngster prepares for a debut at a home ground he barely knows.

Even more bizarre than the fact Green is already 14 Tests into a stellar career and hasn’t played a home Test in Perth due to Covid, is his admission he had to ask Queenslander Marnus Labuschagne for pitch advice because he’s only ever played one first-class match at Optus Stadium in his life.

The eyes of Australian cricket are on the 23-year-old all-round prodigy as Wednesday marks the beginning of an epic 12 month journey where he is poised to shoehorn a maiden trip to the Indian Premier League into a bursting international schedule which threatens to push his prized body to the limit.

Green insists Australian selectors are supportive of his decision to enter into his first IPL auction where he is likely to become the centre of a multi-million dollar bidding frenzy.

But the league’s greatest Australian veteran Warner has offered a sobering warning of the perils that could lay ahead in a year where the IPL is bookended by four Tests in India, an Ashes and a 50-over World Cup.

“From an experience point of view it‘s (the IPL) great. From a playing point of view, he’s got four Test matches and a few t20s or one-dayers after it. Nineteen weeks straight in India,” said Warner.

Warner in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019. (Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP) /

“Being your first trip as well, can be quite challenging from the heat perspective. The playing, the recovery. I’ve been through it. I‘ve done the Test series and the IPL straight before. It is tough.

“Then on the back of that you‘ve got five Test matches in England.

“Then I think you‘ve got 20 days off before you go to Africa and then go to a World Cup.

“Glenn Maxwell did it a couple of years ago. He played the whole year and then was cooked come the (home) season.

“From a youngster‘s point of view it’s totally up to him.

“It‘s his decision he has to make.

“For the longevity of him and his career, it‘s a big call for him as a youngster.

“Whatever decision he goes with we‘ll respect it as players. But ultimately it’s down to him and CA, I don’t know what those conversations are.”

Green battled stress fractures for years as a youngster and the careers of former greats like Shane Watson show there can never be any guarantees for Test match all-rounders, who are the game’s rarest and most valuable commodities, but also most susceptible to workload issues and injury.

Green will be expected to feature heavily in Australia’s tours of India, England and the upcoming 50 over World Cup. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images)

On that level, Green doesn’t want to miss his moment to cash in when IPL interest in him is peaking, and he is confident his body has fortified to the point where he can handle a full year on the road which could include virtually six months in India.

“I‘ve had really good chats with those guys (coach Andrew McDonald and National Selector, George Bailey) and they are really open to me going (to the IPL),” said Green.

“It‘s going to be a really tough year. I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with that … You might get pushed a little bit with your body. (But) I back in that I have good resources and that around me to get through that.

“You never know what is going to happen in the future so you have to stay present in what is happening at the moment. I am really thankful there is a bit of interest but you have no control on what happens. I just have to go day by day.”

Green said he would be nervous playing his first Test in Perth had he not had the previous two summers to break into Test cricket – but he admits it does feel strangely foreign to be preparing to play at an Optus Stadium ground he doesn’t even know as a domestic player.

“I am asking questions of Marnus who batted well a few years ago about how he found it,” said Green.

“It‘s a bit weird when you are asking guys how it was in your home conditions.

“You always look forward to the first one at home. How excited the family are and friends. It should be a great moment walking out onto the field or to bat for the first time. It should be a great feeling.”