While many, including myself, have bemoaned the BBC’s decision to demote Clive Everton this week, one of his replacements Ken Doherty tonight showed that perhaps every cloud does have a silver lining…
While Ken has commentated on matches for the before this week, tonight was probably the first time that I have really listened out for him and I have to say that I was really quite impressed. Now as he is without doubt my second favourite player of all time and one of the nicest people that I have ever met, perhaps I am slightly biased but I genuinely thought that he did a great job. He brought a lot of insight, seemed comfortable with the role and was not afraid to criticise his peers when necessary which I think is important for a commentator. He was particularly strong in the tactical battles that took place between Ding Junhui and John Higgins tonight, no doubt due to the fact that he is one of the best tactical players of the last decade!
Now don’t get me wrong, I still think that the decision to demote Clive Everton is a bizarre one and has rightfully proved to be unpopular with the majority of the viewers that I know, but at least in Ken Doherty I think they have found someone who can do a good job and will continue to improve with more matches.
On a related note, Ken has also been speaking about the state of snooker and Ronnie O’Sullivan’s comments in the video above. It is interesting to hear him being quite frank about the situation and I think that he is right in much of what he says.
Finally, what a tournament this has been so far and what a contrast to last year! Hopefully it will continue to the final…