I nailed the commentary during the Greatest Leg of Darts… even though I did LOSE my voice
WAYNE MARDLE reckons he “nailed” his Sky Sports commentary during the Greatest Leg of Darts – even though he ended up losing his voice.
Michael Smith celebrated a nine-darter in the second set of the 2023 PDC World Championship final but only after rival Michael van Gerwen missed his own attempt at hitting the perfect leg.
Wayne Mardle lost his voice during the 2023 PDC World Championship finalRex
PAMichael Smith hit a nine-darter on route to beating Michael van Gerwen[/caption]
Video clips of the incredible action went viral and that is because Mardle – one of the best TV pundits around – provided the right words at the right time alongside the excellent Stuart Pyke.
His memorable comments in the moment of ecstasy – ‘I CAN’T SPAKE” – were taken from 1980s rugby league commentator Mick Morgan.
Words that Mardle actually says in his kitchen at home to tease wife Donna whenever she gets his tea order wrong.
And Mardle, a former player nicknamed Hawaii 501, was so overcome with emotion on that special night that he had to be replaced in the comms box by three-time world champion John Part.
Mardle said: “I did lose my voice. It was about four or five sets later. But I broke it during that leg.
“I actually said during the break: ‘Look, someone’s going to have to take over from me. I don’t feel like it has gone yet but it’s going…’
“Looking back, I think to myself: ‘I absolutely nailed it.’
“What I didn’t want to do for that particular leg was absolutely overkill it with superlatives.
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“Donna and I tease each other at home. Donna will do something ridiculous like make me a coffee instead of a tea and I’ll respond: ‘I can’t SPAKE!’
“I say it so often that I’m surprised it hasn’t come out in commentary before.”
Mardle, 50, often gets people shouting out the slogan to him on the golf course or stopping him in the street to say how wonderful that final was.
Even people such as jockey Frankie Dettori and legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber talked about that leg, which has been viewed more than three million times on YouTube.
The Essex star said: “For someone to say it could go down in history as an amazing piece of commentary, yeah it feels my heart with a warmth and a joy.
“But I was in the right place at the right time.
“The world of darts had never seen that leg before. It was just incredible. To be part of it, I’m a lucky man.”
AFPVan Gerwen himself threw eight perfect darts during the famous leg[/caption]
MVG’S VIEW
“Not much went through my mind when it happened. It was just a missed leg.
“It was more the leg afterwards that I lost. I created two darts to win that one. I missed them. Those were more important than that nine-darter.
“It was only one leg. Of course, it’s nice. It’s perfect. I don’t really care about all the fuss about it.
“It’s history — you need to look to the future. It doesn’t bring you anything, even the nice moments.
“It happened, you move on. Unfortunately I was part of it. I haven’t watched it back — there’s no point.”
SMITH’S VIEW
“After the final, I went straight to the hotel bar. But it was shut.
“‘I’ve just won the Worlds — can I have a pint?’ They replied: ‘No’. So, I went to bed, put the trophy on the side, and watched the full match on replay.
“That leg can never be beaten now. It can only be matched. It’s probably the best leg I’ve ever thrown.
“It needed Wayne Mardle because he’s hyper. He’s like a big kid when he’s sat in the commentary box.
“Up until July, I watched the clip virtually every day but since then I’ve closed the door and focused on the next one.”
EPASmith will begin the defence of his world title on Friday night[/caption]
