I love listening to Aggers. Especially when the cricket isn't on [when rain stopped play]. I love lying in bed and listening to him paint word pictures of the ground and the 'barmy army' and any other antics the spectators get up to. His descriptions and his voice is - oh, so luvverly. Jonathan Agnew has converted me into becoming a Test Match Special listener. I don't listen for the cricket - I still don't understand a word about that - I still get 'our' side muddled up with 'theirs'. No I just enjoy all the little descriptions and other asides. It's far better than 'Book at Bedtime'. I can picture Aggers so very clearly in my mind. So it was a shock to see a photo of him as I'd imagined he looked just like Peter Willey the umpire - dressed all in white overall with his smart hat on.
I listened in the the 50th anniversary of Test Match special the other day on Radio 4 just to listen and laugh over the 'The Johnners Incident'. As the following piece from Wikipeadia says :-
"One commentary that he performed with Brian Johnston for an England vs West Indies Test Match in August 1991 was voted on the BBC Radio 5 Live to be the "greatest piece of sporting commentary ever" [2]. He was commentating on Ian Botham reeling after receiving a ball and trying, but failing, to step over the stumps. Botham was consequently given out hit wicket. Agnew's comment on this action was: "He just couldn't quite get his leg over." This was followed by laughter by both Johnston and Agnew as they realised what Agnew had just said, with Johnston imploring "oh do stop it, Aggers" between convulsions of mirth (listen to mp3). In England, "getting one's leg over" is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse, something Botham had quite a reputation for [3].
Another on-air giggling fit was provoked by Eleanor Oldroyd's comment "One good bit of news for England is that Ian Botham's groin is back to full strength" [4]
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hi penny, I'm a bit of a secret fan of TMS too, those descriptions of the lengthening shadows on balmy evenings in India or the Carribean on winter tours are as good as any hot water bottle, although I still have one of those too of course.
I'm so glad you popped in Rilly. lovely to see you. I can't beleive you use a hot water bottle - I would have thought you had an electric blanket as you must be rich with your man working 'down south'. Or do they not have electricity up north? Next you'll be telling me it's a 'brown stone' hot water bottle, circa 1945s.
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