The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is set to commence of June 1. This time it is jointly hosted by USA and West Indies. For the first time the United States of America is going to host a mega event of cricket. Ahead of that ICC have named a star-studded commentary panel who will bring the insights and the analytical viewpoint of the game to the watchers. Steve Smith, the former T20 World Cup winner will be also part of the expert panel along with known names like Harsha Bhogle, Ian Smith, Ravi Shastri and Ian Bishop. Dinesh Karthik, who has recently announced his retirement from the IPL, will also be part of the commentary pane. Interestingly, making his World Cup debut, American commentator James O’Brien – better known as Jomboy – will aim to add context to the games for our American audiences. ICC Announce Star-Studded Commentary Panel for ICC T20 World Cup 2024; Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Shastri, Ian Bishop, Harsha Bhogle Among Big Names Included.

Who Is Jomboy?

As revealed by aljazeera.com, Jomboy is the founder of Jomboy Media, a setup b built on podcasts and videos analysing baseball and other American sports. From a two-man podcast to an organisation, it has went to employing more than 60 people in an office and studio complex near the Empire State Building in New York City and the New Jersey warehouse. It has been almost accidentally, O’Brien discovered a late love for cricket. From there, he has covered a journey all the way to the broadcasting panel of an ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

According to aljazeera, O’Brien first encountered cricket as a six-year-old in Australia. His family spent two years living in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield, and O’Brien has vague memories of schoolyard games during recess at the Holy Family Primary School.  Back in the US, O’Brien pursued a career in sports media, initially as a videographer. In 2017, he started a podcast on his beloved New York Yankees as a hobby with his best friend Jake Storiale. O’Brien combined an uncanny talent for lip-reading with forensic video research to analyse everything from strategy to alleged cheating in Major League Baseball. In 2019 several videos went viral and Jomboy’s following skyrocketed.

Jomboy Explaining T20 Cricket

A combination of fatherhood and the COVID-19 pandemic reconnected O’Brien to cricket. He ended up watching Amazon Prime documentary about Australian Cricket, 'The Test' and immediately took a liking to cricket.  “When I was in the hospital, the T20 World Cup was the only thing live. And then I watched a ton [of cricket] when I was on paternity leave.” O'Brien revealed. “I like the intricacies of strategy. I also like bat-to-ball sports. But, unlike baseball, cricket is a good watch even with less athletic players. Baseball is pretty brutal to watch when it’s amateurs but cricket, I could put on any league and I could enjoy the action. But that might be just because I’m not a snob yet.” He further added.

O'Brien has been analysing cricket henceforth and he has used baseball references quite often as well.  When Steve Smith played a late cut, O’Brien pointed out that it’s not “an excuse-me-foul-ball” as in baseball, but a well-executed cricket shot. And when Shamar Joseph finally dismissed Hazlewood by knocking the top of his off-stump – O’Brien is not sure if the correct terminology is “top of off” or “off of top” – he gives it a baseball equivalent: “He dotted the corner. You’d say high and outside, dot, and that’s exactly what he did.” ICC Names Former Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi As Brand Ambassador For Upcoming Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

Some sports fans have credited “Jomboy” with getting them closer to understanding the game than they had ever been, while others feel he is “doing wonders” for the sport in the US.  The ICC hopes O’Brien will help them crack the US market by breaking down barriers when he joins their broadcast team during the matches held in New York. “We are delighted that Jomboy will be joining the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 commentator’s panel,” ICC TV Executive Producer Ajesh Ramachandran told Al Jazeera.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2024 07:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).