Mark Taylor fires back amid ugly Olympics storm over 'disrespectful' commentary move

Mark Taylor has hit back after Australian Olympics watchers questioned Channel 9's choice to use him as a commentator for the diving in Paris - considering he's a cricket legend. TV viewers were taken aback on Saturday night when they heard Taylor's voice in commentary for the first time, and the former Australian cricket captain reportedly admitted he knows little about diving.

Taylor was in the box alongside Sam Fricker, who was providing the expert analysis and comments. The Australian cricket legend was doing more of the descriptive stuff and reading out scores, but it still didn't go down well with fans.

Iconic TV weatherman Tim Bailey was among the many to call out the jarring decision from Channel 9, labelling it 'disrespectful' towards the athletes competing. “Mark Taylor calling the diving. A wonderful cricketer. But a little disrespectful to the athletes,” Bailey wrote on social media. “Tubby probably knows nothing about this sport. He’s admitted as much. The (executive producer) who made this decision? Your last.”

And Bailey wasn't alone in criticising the choice. AAP reporter Oliver Caffrey wrote: "Mark Taylor commentating on the diving sounds like a 12th Man bit" - referring to Billy Birmingham's famous cricket skits.

Another person wrote: "Mark Taylor and synchronised diving. What an unexpected combo." And someone else added: "Channel 9 rolling out Mark Taylor to commentate on Olympic diving final, is like Blocker Roach commentating the chess World Cup. Strange times."

Many made mention of the fact that Taylor was doing his best, and had clearly done his research before heading into the box. But the overwhelming sentiment was that Channel 9 should have got someone who is more of an expert.

Former Hockeyroos star Georgie Parker defended the move, saying: "A commentator is very different to being a special comments/expert. Sam Fricker is the expert. No different to a main caller in a footy match with the expert adding the insight."

Mark Taylor hits back at 'absolute rubbish' criticism

But the Aussie legend has since slapped down the criticism, describing the backlash as "absolute rubbish". He said 2DAY FM’s 'Hughesy, Ed & Erin' on Tuesday morning (Aussie time): “I went out to meet the divers, and they were all delighted that I put my hand up to do it.

"And Sam Flicker is the expert, I’m not a diver. I’m there to do a job, and I’m doing the scores. It’s not disrespectful. That’s absolute rubbish.”

Aussie divers miss Olympic medal after devastating mishap

The controversy around Taylor was overshadowed by a heartbreaking development for Aussie divers Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney. The Aussies were in position to snare a medal heading into their final dive in the women's synchronised 3m springboard event, but botched their final attempt and finished fifth.

Smith didn't get the required jump she was looking for after a mis-step on the board, and was sent way out of synch with Keeney. She was left absolutely devastated and broke down in tears at pool-side afterwards.

"Yeah, pretty brutal. I can't change it now, so no point dwelling on it," said the 31-year-old in her fourth Olympics. "Really, that stuff happens. It happens to the best of the best, and unfortunately it was my day today. So got to not let that define me, though. We've done some pretty amazing things across our 10 years.

"I screamed underwater - I was hoping the under-water cam wasn't on. It's just disappointing, very disappointing. That's diving - trying to control our bodies and spin lots of times on an uneven, very bouncy plank. Had a bad hurdle and landed on the side of the board, which obviously affects the rest of the dive. It's just unfortunate."

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Keeney and Smith had won silver at the recent world championships and had expected to medal in Paris. "Maddi and I put a lot of hard work into synchro obviously, and we had a lot of expectation from ourselves and obviously from other people as well," said Smith. "Obviously, it's gonna hit me a bit after this, but I've still got to kick on, I'm not dying, so I'm alright. I just feel bad for letting the team down."

with AAP