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henry-blofeld
Test Mach Special
By Will 1 month ago, 2 Comments »
There was a frivolous and fun game on Twitter a few months ago, the hashtag being #radio4minus1letter, and they produced some gems.
“lose ends” an invited panel have to find the end of the sellotape roll ·
A look at Judeo-Roman history through one woman’s obsession with a charioteer: Woman’s Hur
The Shipping Forecat – a daily nautical report from a feline stowaway
But this is particularly good. Because it’s about cricket.
Geoffrey Boycott and Blowers travel supersonic in the world\’s fastest planes – Test Mach Special !
Suggestions welcome…
2 Comments »Move over Blofeld: Lily Allen wants your job
By Will last year, at the start of August, 3 Comments »
Possibly the most tabloid headline I’ve ever written, yet it’s true. Well, I say true; tabloid true.
Lily Allen has admitted that she has a crush on England cricketers Andrew Flintoff and Graham Onions.
The pop singer has been updating her Twitter blog with comments about the current Ashes series, offering her support to the England team.
One early message described Flintoff as “f**king fit”, but she has now switched her attention to Durham fast bowler Onions.
“I think I fancy Graham Onions more than Freddie now,” she said. “I’ve heard he goes for days.” Later, she asked her Twitter followers: “Is Onions married? Anyone?”
Meanwhile, Allen also expressed an interest in cricket commentary, claiming that she may take it up when she finishes her singing career.
“Come on Onions! Commentator just described him as ‘tall dark haired and pigeon toed’. Cricket commentary is another world,” she joked.
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew responded to her Tweets, saying: “If you want some cricket commentary lessons, give me a shout!”
And this, hot on the heels of TMS losing its lustre. Difficult times, these, for Test Match Special.
3 Comments »Mr Bond, my dear old thing
By Will 4 years ago, at the start of November, 1 Comment »
Blowers is cricket’s genuine marmite candidate. You either love him or hate him; there is no middle ground. Blowers’s critics might have a change of heart, though, with the news that James Bond’s arch enemy Blofeld (Ernst Stavro Blofeld for the anoraks among you) was named after Henry’s father! This via Rod at the Nutley:
“My Papa and Ian had known each other at Eton. When Ian was working on the novel that would become Thunderball in the early Sixties, he wrote to Papa telling him that he had come up with a new villain, that he wanted to name him Blofeld and would he mind. Exclamation mark, exclamation mark! Papa thought it mildly amusing and wasn’t in the least bit worried. Mind you, that was before any of the films had been made, so he had no idea how notorious Blofeld would become.”
My dear old thing, pigeons, buses. He’s utterly unhinged and should therefore be knighted immediately.
[via Nutley]
1 Comment »Cricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary
By Will 4 years ago, mid-July, 8 Comments »
Until now, with the odd exception, ball-by-ball commentary has been performed by mystical faraway people with no names. As if by magic, bang on time, the scorecards at Cricinfo appear and within a few minutes a stream of fascinating (and for many people, vital) commentary is revealed.
The veil of intrigue as to the identity of these people is, on Thursday at least, to be removed as me and my colleage, the utterly venerable Jenny Thompson, will be providing live ball-by-ball commentary. My editor and boss started the ball rolling the other week, during the one-dayers against Sri Lanka, which was (near enough) the first time an editorial team had access to it. Actually that’s rubbish: our colleages in India, Jamie and Sriram, have been doing it for the India v West Indies series – and a splendid job they’ve done too.
Anyway it’s all pretty new and exciting and, hopefully, me and Jenny (and others of course) might provide something a bit different. We’ll see how it goes. I’m keen on pointing people from the scorecard to various things on the site – be it a funny/interesting new photo that’s just landed; a “breaking news” story – and generally bringing our own personal style (within house rules, and The Cricinfo House Style) to proceedings.
On that note…what do you like/dislike about Cricinfo’s scorecards and live commentary? What do you want to hear about when you’re stuck at work, clock-watching? I promise not to do a Henry Blofeld re his fascination of butterflies and London buses…but a stray pigeon simply has to be mentioned.
8 Comments »Bearders: My Life in Cricket
By Will 4 years ago, mid-June, No Comments; be the first!
As mentioned the other day, I have been reading and reviewing Bill Frindall’s autobiography, Bearders: My Life In Cricket. I wasn’t looking forward to it but much to my surprise, it was an interesting book. It’s not to everyone’s taste, of course, but it revealed a different side to his voice on air with Test Match Special (where he can seem a trifle pissed off with life. And Henry Blofeld).
Worth a read. Full review at Cricinfo.
No Comments »Caption Competition – posters for winners!
By Will 4 years ago, at the start of June, 1 Comment »
In case you haven’t already entered, be sure to check out our very fine caption competition at Cricinfo. We have three of these brilliant posters on offer – signed, too – of BBC’s Test Match Special commentators. Rather spiffing, I think you’ll agree but be warned: the standard is rather high. The poster includes caricatures (too late to check the spelling) of John Arlott, Jonathan Agnew, Henry Blofeld and of course Brian Johnston. Or if you’re not one of the three lucky winners, you can buy one.
Most inappropriate celebrity cricket commentators
By Will 4 years ago, at the end of January, 9 Comments »
Disclaimer: I have flu. I’m not thinking very straight. I don’t swear too much on this blog, so you’ll forgive the humourous outburst in this post as I amuse myself with a little story.
This is an old pub favourite of mine, usually only attempted after at least five or six pints, or at least when inhibitions don’t prevent you from acting out (as loud as possible) your best Samuel L Jackson impersonation. So. Who would be the most inappropriate celebrities to commentate on a cricket match and why?
Samuel L Jackson has to be one of my best, purely for that magically eloquent phrase, “You Motherfucker.” Picture the scene: Henry Blofeld is waffling uncontrollably at the mic, like the ageing cravate-wearing god of waffle he is; his producer, Peter Baxter, is tearing out what little hair he has left after a lifetime listening to Blowers’ fascination about red buses and curiously brown pigeons. And many other things. On comes Samuel, and the change immediately brings a a wicket:
“Yo, here comes Harmison and FUCK if aint got himself a wicket. That mother******’s bowled Afridi all over the mother******* shop. Yo bitch, you outta there!”
Baffled, Blofeld returns with a surprising and contrasting grace and ease of word. Jackson is sacked.
For entirely different reasons, The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair would also be utterly inappropriate as a cricket commentator. Even wedged between the uber-smooth Benaud / Nicholas combination, he’d out-shmooze Shiny Mark with such ease that Nicho would be reduced to his party-piece: taking off his wig and waving it around like a bafoon. Worse, though, would be our Tony’s handling of arguments that would arise in the comm box.
“Ambrosia. I think you meant Ambrose, there, Chony,” quips Benaud with unruffled glee. Nicho’s professional, but even he can’t hide a chuckle. Atherton’s on the floor, crying with laughter. Greig and Botham not sure what’s so funny; Botham assumes everyone’s laughing at him and smacks them with bats.
“Huh. Right, yeah – ok, hang on guys,” says Tony. “Look, I mean, you know, Gordon and I have been…oh no, wrong situation. [hands closed, palms facing inward in priest-like display of honesty to the thousands of listeners who can't see him.] Cherie and I are committed to…oh that’s not it either is it. Er, right, Euan apologies profusely to McEwans, he won’t do it again.”
Blair is sacked.
You see, we take our commentators for granted. They’re not a bad bunch, though; Nicho, as much as I’ve cringed and squirmed, is peerless these days as a presenter. He’s bloody brilliant, and his shiny shmoozing adds to the overal Nicho package. Celebrity commentators? Who’d have em?
Who would be your most inappropriate celebrities to commentate on a cricket match and why?
9 Comments »Marsh, Lawson and Hughes joining TMS
By Will 5 years ago, at the end of June, 1 Comment »
Merv Hughes, Geoff Lawson and Rod Marsh are all joining TMS this summer – a great lineup. Will be particularly interested to hear Marsh’s thoughts now that he’s no longer England’s Academy director. He’ll bring a unique insight into England (and Australia) – should be fun. Can’t wait to hear Hughes and Blowers on in tandem! “My dear old thing, what a spiffing moustache – OH WAIT there’s a red bus/dove/pigeon/hamburger going past” etc.
1 Comment »