Jonathan Agnew, MBE

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spot
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by spot »

I note with delight the inclusion of Jonathan Agnew in the New Year Honours List to mark his 25 years service on Test Match Special. The program has been a continuous thread in Britain since the fifties, peppered with the likes of John Arlott OBE, Brian Johnston CBE MC, Christopher Martin-Jenkins MBE, Henry Blofeld OBE, Fred Trueman OBE, Tony Lewis CBE and Bill Frindall MBE and it is unarguably the finest ever cultural achievement of any media organization.

Peter Baxter is long overdue for equivalent official recognition.
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gmc
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by gmc »

The homours system has been so corrupted by PM's rewarding their polical allies and civil servant who have done nothimng more than what they were being paid to do. it's now a farce.

New Year honours 'reward failure' as civil servants behind Whitehall fiascos are given awards

I'm disappointed some of them didn't have the moral fibre to refuse like this chap did.

Hillsborough campaigner rejects OBE in New Year's Honours list in protest over those who "failed to help" survivors
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spot
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by spot »

Surely you can recognize the distinct difference between Civil Service awards and civilian awards? They get published in different lists and the awards themselves are not the same. How can anyone confuse the one with the other? The Order of the Bath, for example, is exclusively for public service.

Your "Hillsborough campaigner" has nothing whatever to do with the political, military and civil service awards.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
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gmc
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by gmc »

spot;1504768 wrote: Surely you can recognize the distinct difference between Civil Service awards and civilian awards? They get published in different lists and the awards themselves are not the same. How can anyone confuse the one with the other? The Order of the Bath, for example, is exclusively for public service.

Your "Hillsborough campaigner" has nothing whatever to do with the political, military and civil service awards.


Yes I can. The awards given in circumstances where sone recognition may be merited are completely undermined by it's connection to a system that rewards incompetence, cronyism and political corruption. In a country where an unelected prime minister is about to use the royal prerogative and bypass parliament which for all it's faults is our elected representatives and with an NHS in crisis and abouit to be privatised by a fascist governmment that most people in this countyry do not want we are expected to pay for the refurbushment of their london nhome you can take your royal honours and put them where the sun does not shine. I'm surprised at you spot falling for such sop are you a secret daily mail reader perhaps?

Who the hell is Jonathan Agnew? How does a commentator for a minotrity sport deserve any kind opf honoue.
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by Bruv »

gmc;1504778 wrote: Who the hell is Jonathan Agnew? How does a commentator for a minority sport deserve any kind of honour.


I thought I would show my ignorance by asking who he was, but I think he's some bloke that speaks in a plummy voice about cricket for a living, he has been doing it for 25 years. A lot more staying power than most, 5 minutes is enough for me.
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by Clodhopper »

He went to my school (Uppingham) and was a couple of years older than me - we had a great cricket record the years he played for us! My father was the cricket coach at the time and (putting it short) said Agnew was a talent, but also an idiot.

That's pretty much true - I don't see why he gets an honour for turning Test Match Special from a way you could genuinely follow a Test Match on the Radio to a load of bollox mildly related to cricket.

But I'm biased.
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by Bryn Mawr »

Clodhopper;1504818 wrote: He went to my school (Uppingham) and was a couple of years older than me - we had a great cricket record the years he played for us! My father was the cricket coach at the time and (putting it short) said Agnew was a talent, but also an idiot.

That's pretty much true - I don't see why he gets an honour for turning Test Match Special from a way you could genuinely follow a Test Match on the Radio to a load of bollox mildly related to cricket.

But I'm biased.


Nice town is Uppingham and a good school to boot - Welcome back :-6
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by spot »

Clodhopper;1504818 wrote: I don't see why he gets an honour for turning Test Match Special from a way you could genuinely follow a Test Match on the Radio to a load of bollox mildly related to cricket.It was not, in all conscience, entirely his fault. The damage was well entrenched before the baton was exchanged. The definitive Cricket commentator has to have been John Arlott since whom nobody has even got close. We were fortunate merely to have lived while Mr Arlott was broadcasting. I would maintain that Tony Lewis was his equal at bringing the game to the listener, but John Arlott expressed himself with an extempore rhythm of language I've heard nowhere else.

The New Year's greetings to you, Clod.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by G#Gill »

I rarely watch cricket on TV, let alone listen to a radio commentary. However, I am old enough to remember John Arlott - a very distinctive voice as I recall. My brother John was the cricket fanatic in the family, so much so that he devised his own cricket game using a home-made 'dice' that registered runs 1-6 and also 'out' and another 'dice' to find out how the batsman was 'out'. It seemed to work quite well and gave John hours of amusement. He even took his cricket 'game' to hospital when he had an operation (he had a complete 2nd growing set of top teeth removed !). He also took Wisden's Almanac with him ! I'm quite sure that my brother will still have that book and possibly more than one, as I believe they were published every year (not sure if they are still published though). I expect post war Wisden could be quite valuable now.

I will always remember the now famous gaff that happened in a Test Match in 1991 when 'Aggers' said that Botham was out by knocking his wicket stumps because "he couldn't get his leg over" which caused great stifled giggles from Brian Johnston, not helped by 'Aggers' giggling in the background as 'Johnners' tried to carry on with the commentary. For any non-English readers, the term 'leg-over' is British slang for having sex !
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Clodhopper
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by Clodhopper »

Thanks and happy new year to you all :)

G#Gill: John Arlott really knew his cricket, which was half his talent, but the other half was that fantastic rich voice and the way he used it. Irreplaceable, as we have seen.

Wasn't it Arlott, who was commentating on a match way back where there was a player called Mann on both teams - one a batsman, the other a fast bowler and inevitably one ended up bowling at the other and hit him on the head with a particularly nasty bouncer. "Aah," said Arlott, deadpan in that fruitcake voice, " A clear case of Mann's inhumanity to Mann."

The other one I recall wasn't Arlott, but there was a great West Indian fast bowler called Michael Holding who played against us when our Captain was Peter Willey. You can see where this is going :). At the start of a new over the commentator brought us up to date with who was bowling to whom: "The bowler's Holding the batsman's Willey..." Cue hilarity...
The crowd: "Yes! We are all individuals!"

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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by magentaflame »

Speaking of test matches..... warner just made 100 before lunch. The last time that hsppened was 1976 in pakky. And the last australian to do it was bradman in 32' i think.

The crowd in Sydney just went nuts......and so did warner lol.
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Clodhopper
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Jonathan Agnew, MBE

Post by Clodhopper »

Well! Congrats to him! A real talent that lad.

I think 20/20 cricket has had a very positive impact on cricket as a whole, whereas the 40 and 50 over games had a very negative effect. I suspect that in the future we will look back on this time as something of a golden age for world cricket.
The crowd: "Yes! We are all individuals!"

Lone voice: "I'm not."
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