Inside Sport: Another duck for chicks (2007)

The second woman to have a crack at cricket commentary seems to have all but disappeared amidst The Ashes. After her comments on Channel Nine during the first Test against England, Brantz’s future in live cricket looked hopeful.

But as the cricket days have rolled on, her appearances have become less frequent; or less and less evident; or less and less of a novelty. She’s gone the way of the dodo, in many respects. Whatever the circumstances, it seems Brantz is doomed to walk the path once trodden by actress-cum-cricket-commentator-cum-actress Kate Fitzpatrick many eons ago.

And what a short path that was: in the cul-de-sac of women in the cricket commentary box, she had no choice but to u-turn and walk right on out.

Fitzpatrick’s stint in the box was abruptly ended by Kerry Packer after she made a less-than-enlightening on-air comments. As a result, most spectators instantaneously purged the idea of a woman sitting behind the mike again. The cause for female representation in the presenting of the gentlemen’s game seemed futile.
But was it?

Well, yeah … pretty much.

Wanting to blow some fresh air into the stuffy (and crowded) commentary box, Nine headhunted proverbial eye candy Stephanie Brantz. And at the time, Brantz was hot property: the popular and valued SBS presenter was considered the Aussie face of soccer’s World Cup. Shortly after, she was courted by Fox Sports. But then came Fast Eddie McGuire with a bid of cool 250K; on November 23 the model-cum-SBS-sports-presenter took up a job with the country’s most revered commentary team. Brantz’s task was to report analysis at various intervals. “I'm not going to be doing ball by ball commentary,” she revealed.
“Because, truthfully, I'm not an expert."

Well, yeah … who’d have thought?

Brantz is an ex-model with a passion for sport and a background in cricket. Yep, sounds like the perfect recipe for television cricket: a jock and a looker. Her male counterparts certainly aren’t as rounded. But suspicions were bound to be cast about her primary function: insightful analysis.

One step forward and two steps back seems the way but believe us when we say it has more to do with Nine’s selection and direction than a reflection of her ability as a presenter. Nine has employed Brantz in what the media calls a “commentary” role. However, her position resembles a paltry adaptation of commentary both in capacity and content; a far cry from her mandate at SBS. Nine situated her for her first broadcast – of all places – right smack-bang in the middle of the Barmy Army.

Then again, perhaps her role is less analytical and more social. The second day of the opening Test saw her less stiffly dressed and interviewing “The Face of the Ashes” Lara Bingle, who seemed more baffled by the game than Our Steph.

Let us, like Brantz, analyse the situation. Nine has seemingly employed a female with an interest in sport and a history in presenting. That’s a start, Nine – it wouldn’t want a commentator who’d never participated in the game, as per its edict with its cricket team. But maybe it could’ve remembered and appreciated that there’s selection of women who’ve played internationally and been affiliated with the sport on a managerial level. Brantz isn’t a cricket expert and her cricket history starts and ends with opening the batting for her school team. Let’s face it: she’s no Lisa Keightley. No Karen Rolton.

That’s not saying that Brantz has been a complete flop. Perhaps Nine’s formula deserves greater scrutiny.
First, it was an actress (Fitzpatrick). Then a former model (Brantz).

Who’s next? Kylie?