Kerry O'Keeffe
Encyclopedia
Kerry James "Skull" O'Keeffe (born 25 November 1949, Hurstville, New South Wales
) is a former Australian cricket
er and now a commentator
for ABC Radio. O'Keeffe played 24 Tests
and 2 ODIs between 1971 and 1977.
He was a spin bowler
, bowling leg break
s. He never quite lived up to early expectations of being the next great Australian leg spin bowler, taking 53 wickets at an average of 38.07. He made his Test debut against England in the Fifth Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series after taking 6/69 and hitting 55 not out in the New South Wales match against the tourists, but did little and was dropped. Recalled for the vital Seventh Test on the spinning SCG
pitch he took 3/48 and 3/96, but it was not enough to win the game and save The Ashes
. He did however have some success with the bat averaging 25.76 and being called upon to open the batting in the second innings of the Centenary Test
. One statistic that O'Keeffe himself uses to demonstrate his lack of penetration with the ball is that he is the bowler with the highest percentage of wickets out 'caught' in the history of Test match cricket (44 out of 53 wickets, 84%) This is typical of his commentating style of making fun of his bowling abilities. He often talks of an incident during the 1972 Australian tour of England, when he appealed against a batsman for leg before wicket
, and the umpire turned him down, saying that the ball was "doing too much", meaning that the ball was spinning too much that would have turned away from the stumps. O'Keeffe said that the umpire's comment was a sarcastic jibe at his inability to spin the ball, something he likes to mock himself about.
After varied careers post-cricket he is now a commentator on ABC Radio
and occasionally the Nine Network
. He is known for his humorous anecdotes, told in the manner of an after dinner speech at a cricketers club, and his distinctive laugh. He especially seems to enjoy working with overseas commentators such as India's Harsha Bhogle
whom he confuses with his colourful Australian language. However when he concentrates on the game he shows insight born of a career at the highest level together with study of the statistics and history of the game.
In 2004 he released his autobiography According to Skull. He has also released a number of CDs containing some shorts of his commentating antics.
During Australia's 2004 successful campaign in India, guest commentator Harsha Bhogle was heard to ask some of the other regular ABC Cricket commentators "Do you guys have a roster, for commentating alongside Kerry, or do you draw straws". This question elicited nervous guffaws from those present in the commentary box at the time. It also indicated what many listeners felt, that it was difficult, though illuminating and interesting, to commentate alongside O'Keeffe, and that other commentators were nervous in his presence.
Hurstville, New South Wales
Hurstville is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hurstville is located 16 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of...
) is a former Australian cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and now a commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
for ABC Radio. O'Keeffe played 24 Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
and 2 ODIs between 1971 and 1977.
He was a spin bowler
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
, bowling leg break
Leg break
A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of...
s. He never quite lived up to early expectations of being the next great Australian leg spin bowler, taking 53 wickets at an average of 38.07. He made his Test debut against England in the Fifth Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series after taking 6/69 and hitting 55 not out in the New South Wales match against the tourists, but did little and was dropped. Recalled for the vital Seventh Test on the spinning SCG
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
pitch he took 3/48 and 3/96, but it was not enough to win the game and save The Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
. He did however have some success with the bat averaging 25.76 and being called upon to open the batting in the second innings of the Centenary Test
Centenary Test
Centenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
. One statistic that O'Keeffe himself uses to demonstrate his lack of penetration with the ball is that he is the bowler with the highest percentage of wickets out 'caught' in the history of Test match cricket (44 out of 53 wickets, 84%) This is typical of his commentating style of making fun of his bowling abilities. He often talks of an incident during the 1972 Australian tour of England, when he appealed against a batsman for leg before wicket
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
, and the umpire turned him down, saying that the ball was "doing too much", meaning that the ball was spinning too much that would have turned away from the stumps. O'Keeffe said that the umpire's comment was a sarcastic jibe at his inability to spin the ball, something he likes to mock himself about.
After varied careers post-cricket he is now a commentator on ABC Radio
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and occasionally the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. He is known for his humorous anecdotes, told in the manner of an after dinner speech at a cricketers club, and his distinctive laugh. He especially seems to enjoy working with overseas commentators such as India's Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle is an Indian cricket commentator and journalist. He was born in a Marathi speaking family in Hyderabad.-Early life:...
whom he confuses with his colourful Australian language. However when he concentrates on the game he shows insight born of a career at the highest level together with study of the statistics and history of the game.
In 2004 he released his autobiography According to Skull. He has also released a number of CDs containing some shorts of his commentating antics.
During Australia's 2004 successful campaign in India, guest commentator Harsha Bhogle was heard to ask some of the other regular ABC Cricket commentators "Do you guys have a roster, for commentating alongside Kerry, or do you draw straws". This question elicited nervous guffaws from those present in the commentary box at the time. It also indicated what many listeners felt, that it was difficult, though illuminating and interesting, to commentate alongside O'Keeffe, and that other commentators were nervous in his presence.