Test Match Special - Day 3: England force the follow on

Episode Date: August 23, 2020

Jonathan Agnew presents a review of the third day of the 3rd test between England and Pakistan. Joe Root's side forced the follow on in Southampton after bowling out Pakistan for 273, despite the efforts of visiting captain Azhar Ali who scored an unbeaten 141. England could have dismissed the tourists earlier had they not dropped three catches in the space of 10 James Anderson deliveries. Anderson ultimately finished with figures of 5-56 and is now just two shy of 600 Test wickets. Aggers is joined by Michael Vaughan and Azhar Mahmood to discuss the action, while Dan Norcross speaks to Ali and the England spinner Dom Bess. On the anniversary of Brian Johnston's final TMS broadcast, we look at the connection between Brian, his former colleague and fellow TMS legend John Arlott, and the south coast.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Bring more gear, carry more passengers, face greater challenges. Welcome to the world of Defender, with seating up to eight, ample cargo space and legendary off-road capability. It's built to make the most of every adventure. Learn more at landrover.ca. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. This is the TMS Podcast. from BBC Radio 5 Live. I'm Jonathan Agnew and welcome to the Test Match Special podcast

looking back on the third day of the third England-Pakistan test here in Southampton. Pakistan were fighting back today until James Anderson took five wickets eventually. To come we'll get reaction from the Pakistan Captain Azar Ali, who played so well, and England's Dombes. And also in this podcast on the anniversary of Brian Johnston's final broadcast on Test Match Special, we'll look at the connections between Brian, another TMS legend, John Arlett, and this part of the world. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.

The third day of the final test between England and Pakistan here at the Ageos Bowl. She's Pakistan bowled out for 273, and they're following on 310 runs behind, but they haven't faced a ball yet at that second innings, because as soon as all the players went out into the middle, the unpastised the light was too bad, and they took them off. an eventful day in lots of ways Jimmy Anderson finished on 598

wickets he should have had he should have had his 600 because he had three catches dropped two in one over and even by Jimmy's standards I think that was a bit of a challenge for him to remain but actually he did remain pretty cool pretty calm

he took the first one of the day Shafik was caught by route at first slip after six runs been added for five that was 30 for Fawad Alam made 21 he got a beautiful ball from Best that turn bounced and was very very well caught indeed by Joss Butler standing up

he had a long way to go up and to his left so that was the end of Fowad then the main stand of the day 138 between Mohamed Rizwan and the captain Azah Ali and Rizwan was eventually caught down the leg side by Butler off Wokes for 53 the captain still going strong at this stage

the Asashah made 20 he was very well caught by Joe Root when the new ball was taken off the bowling of Broad it went really quickly and high above his head at first slip is a terrific catch that Broad also had Shane Afrily caught brilliant catch by Joss Butler one hand did absolutely a full stretch

down the leg side and the ball was just in the tip of his fingers and he knew if he landed on that hand from the dive there's a chance the ball might bounce out of his glove you often see that so while he was just before he landed He just loosened his grip on the ball, allowed it just drop into the palm

and then close his fist around it. It was a brilliant, brilliant piece of wicket-keeping. Then the shambles with the drop catches and so on, including Azarali. He was dropped twice. Burns put him down. Muhammad Abbas was dropped by Crawley at Slip. So those are the...

Anderson managed to virtually keep it together. But then Azar Ali hit him to mid-on. It went to Stuart Broad's weight. just to his right he dropped it and just as everyone thought oh no here comes another violent explosion in a rage himself brought just got hold of the ball and hurled it at the stumps and happened to rip the middle one out of the ground with Muhammad Abbas out of his out of his ground it was an amazing piece of cricket I mean it was comedy in so many ways but again Anderson denied what would have been his third

wicket that would have been number 600 but he's had to deal with and and simply settled for his 598th when he had Dasim Shah caught by Sibli for Norp. He's taken his 29th 5 Wicked Hall 5 for 56,

Stuart Broad took 2 for 40, wokes and Bess are wicked each and Joffre Arch was wicketless for 58. So lots going on. There's a period there, Michael, I don't know, with the forecast around, it looked as if Pakistan

might be able to see out the day going to tomorrow. We know that Tuesday looks to be a bit of a write-off and possibly save the game. they've got a long day ahead of them tomorrow. Yeah, I mean, you kind of look at Pakistan. I think when they lost that early wicket this morning, I don't think there was many in the ground

around the commentary boxes that didn't think they were going to just fall in a heap. I think the conditions were in England's favour, and all of a sudden Azar Ali came out there. And straight away, you could see that his technique could change. That left foot wasn't quite going over to the offside. His balance was better. He could access those straighter deliveries.

He played a few glorious shots on the unside to get himself going. and in Mohammed Rizban, he found a fighter, you know, a great character to bat with and that partnership was special for Pakistan. England kept on nipping away. The spinner and Joss Butler's combination worked. Delighted for Butler behind the stumps because he's taken three really good catches.

That one down the leg side to Stuart Broad, the flying right hand, the one off Don Bess, you know, one off Chris Wokes down the leg side, very similar to the one that he dropped off Jermaine Blackford, Blackwood just a few weeks ago here on this venue. So it's been a good day for butler, you know, Azar Ali's a standout for Pakistan,

but it's amazing. I remember today for those three-drop catch than 10 balls. I've just seen, while you're talking, they've just shown them on the screen. And how Anderson has managed to hold it together. And it's such an irony that Stuart Broad would have dropped his 600. I mean, how does that work out as well? Oh, it was just comical, wasn't it?

That's so comical. And you see the ball hurled in rage from Broad, ripping out the stump. And one of the highlights of me was the looks on the faces of Joss Butler and Joe Root because they didn't, they didn't look at Jimmy. And there's a wicket fallen and no one knew what to do. You couldn't really celebrate it because it should have been Jimmy's 600. And then you saw Mohammed Abbas's face.

He was surprised he was run out. It was run out by five minutes. It was a mad moment. And it's nice that there's occasionally some comedy. I don't know how much Jimmy's ribs are necessarily being tickled. at the moment. But anyway, he's been around a long, long time and he knows his chance will come in this second innings to get the two that he now needs. Asa, how do you reflect on Pakistan's day there? 30 for four, it didn't look good. It wasn't look good. And as Michael mentioned,

you know, Azar Ali and Mohamed is one standout performance from these guys. And especially Azar Ali, under so much pressure, so much scrutiny and the way he batted today and leading the team from the front. And a good thing we saw him coming back for opening the back. Yes, that was interesting wasn't it? I was in favour of that. Yes, I need to ask you, what is the rule? Because ball hasn't been

bowled and he crossed the rope and he can bat. He's in. He's in. He's crossed the rope. I think he's crossed the rope. Yeah, I think once you come out over that rope, because that's the interesting thing about it, isn't? Now you've got your prime batsman in great form. I could see why he opened the batting tonight.

But now tomorrow is going to He's not fresh. I thought it was right to see, and I think, you know, because enough experience in the coaching staff, Bakar, Mushi, and all these guys, you know, and they said, you face the ball, you know, two new balls, and why don't you go and face the third new ball? And he was right to see him for Pakistan point of view.

I think he played really well with Rizwan. He's a fighter. We saw he got hit by the Joffler Archer and next ball, you know. Everything was behind the ball and he played really well. He showed some good courage and temperament. and everything. Isn't it, isn't it, it's sort of good from a player's perspective

when you can, you can prove points to your critics. It's a phrase I don't really like to use because there wouldn't have been criticism usually in this, you know, without reason. But with all the noises, we're going on in Pakistan, Safaraz, in Rizvans case.

And obviously there's Azar Ali seems to be copying it from all sorts of areas at the moment. And, you know, Rizvans had a terrific tour, isn't it? I mean, that is a really good. good decision that he's coming to replace Safarazas. As impartial observers, not involved in Pakistani cricket politics, he is a terrific cricketer. He's got a really strong character.

And for Azar Ali, again, who you've described, is copping so much back at home to bat like that. In these conditions, the light's been pretty awful all day. He's held that innings together. It was tough, tough condition yesterday when he was batting. Jimmy Anderson and Broad was bowling with Archer. And this morning as well, it was tough, tough condition. It wasn't easy condition any time, you know, ball was doing enough.

And he showed some great class, and he proved his critic wrong in back home in Pakistan. And there's one as well, you know, everybody was saying, why do you drop the captain? And he was brilliant throughout the series with his keeping and betting as well. We saw in the last game, you know, when ball was whooping around and the way he batted with a tail, it was phenomenal. Yeah, it was. How do you assess as a... Oh, I just think that's proof that when you just iron out something technically and you go and deliver it out in the middle, I'm sure over the course of the last week or so,

you know, there was a lot of time probably to go in the indoor school throughout that second test match and that left foot not going over to that offside and the head not following, or the head going first and the lip-leg following, whichever way you want to call it, you know, once you get out in the middle and you feel that that movement's perfect and you can access those straight balls, you just feel so much. relief as a player. I had it so many times in my career that three or four innings would go and not score and be like, what's going to go and work on a movement to make sure that I was in a more neutral position that can access full balls, get

back into the ball, go forward and back with balance. And it's the most wonderful feeling in the middle when you know it's nice, because you don't fear any deliveries. And when you're playing like Azarelli played today, the ball that nips back, which is his danger ball and has been, you know, he could access those balls that were nipping back. and there was one or two earlier that Stuart ball ball and just knit about and because his foot wasn't in the way

his back could access towards the line of the ball and he got away with it. There's the odd ball that hit the inside edge and went down to fine leg and it's a wonderful feeling as a batsman when you get that

you know you've worked it out and you've gone probably with Eunice Khan or misper into the nets and he's worked technically so hard and he's a wonderful player his game on the leg side and that's why it's amazed me for a while watching him

why he does take that foot over to the offside because realistically his game should be leave, leave, leave, make the bowlers, ball straight and go, thank you very much, onto the on-side. That's when Azar Ali is at his best like we saw today. Because of his knee, because this is a problem he had in Australia when I was with the team as well. And last year when Pakistan toured, because of his knee, when his knees are really stiff, that's where he struggle a bit more.

You know, he can't get the balance right and that's where he struggled. If his knee is fine, ITBs are loose and then he's fine. and definitely he worked with Eunice Khan and because he's doing the normal practice you know like an interim ball so hitting that ball through mid-on area and mid-wicked area rather than you know going across and playing across the line

need to have a massage every time he bats get those IT bands now so they got the gun massage everyone has that these days oh well that's obviously but he's one of the good guys agers yes he is I like to see good people reward and I think there's no one in English cricket and world cricket

that doesn't think that Azarela is a really high-class individual. He's a gent and the interviews all the time, it's always down there, he's always happy to be done I'll go along with that, absolutely. And what are England slip-catching? I mean, it's been dire this summer, hasn't I? Well, you've got to laugh because, I mean, they're all young, you know, you've got Zach Crowley.

That was as easy as they come. I do worry about Rory Burns because he's had a tough summer with the bat. You know, when you're dropping catches at second slip, you know it adds to that kind of negativity in his mind at the end of us somebody's not going to I don't think get another bat in this game you know you just hope you can grab a couple tomorrow and go away from this test series

with a positivity of thought in his mind you know but the cordons been a problem Joe Roots been excellent you know I think Andy earlier on was talking about Joe Roots catching at first let's talk about Butler because obviously that was such a big theme of the last match

his wicket keeping well he's taking two brilliant catches today yeah well we kind of always saying you know runs in the bank is it going to help his keeping well clearly it has and I don't think it's just the runs I look at him technically

his foot movement down the leg side to the seamers you know more crab like he's getting across where if you even go back to the second test here there was a couple of times down the leg side where he just didn't move he just didn't feel he had those legs moving towards the leg side balls where today he's taking two tremendous catches down the leg side,

particularly like the catch-off Donbess, because that's exactly the catch that he dropped two weeks ago, which shows to me that it's either that he's more relaxed and the hands that are a little bit more giving to the ball or he's worked tirelessly, without question, with Bruce French to just try and iron out a technical floor or two.

And just briefly, as far as the winter's concerns, to see him having done the work and to take a catch like that, does that make you think that actually... Well, England have got options. They've got so many options in subcontinent conditions They've got Keaton Jennings that they like At the top of the order potentially they're coming in Because he plays spin so well

They've got Ben folks who could come in as a keeper Brilliant Wicket Keeper very good against spinners A batsman got that 100 in Sri Lanka And that would mean Butler plays as a batsman The England Test Match team are starting to have Lots of options, nice headaches to have This is the TMS podcast From BBC Radio 5 Live

Let's get some reaction then from both camps First the Pakistan captain And the Century Maker today Azar Ali has been talking to Dan Norcross. A great knock. We can see how much it meant to the team that gave you a very rousing reception when he got that 100.

How much did it mean for you? Al-a-Lam-Ala, first of all, I would like to thank Almighty Allah. Yeah, it meant a lot for me. I was under pressure. But again, it needs to, you know, when you're under pressure, you need to keep things simple and focus,

but you can do best. You know, basics are very important and, you know, they were bowling really well last night and also this morning. so I wanted to fight out in there and hang in there as long as I can as any unfolded I felt comfortable later on

it's nothing more than once you score runs you've got 50 then your confidence gets back so yeah it meant a lot for me my team you know all the guys and the management they always you know behind me

they want me to do well so that's why they were very happy a really terrific partnership with Mohamed Rizvan You must be delighted at the tour he's been having, both with the gloves and the bat. Yeah, wonderful. He's a positive person. Whatever the suggestion and the circumstances always come with the positive intent. You know, he played wonderfully today again. He showed the command and also he was smart at degrees. You know, he's a, he's a wonderful wicketkeeper, brings a lot of energy in the team, fantastic for us.

Now the thinking of opening the batting, you were still in, so you were seeing it well. Well, that was the theory, I guess, yeah. Yeah, of course, you know, in this kind of light, when lights are on and it's kind of dark, you know, I wanted to, you know, I was quite clear once someone said, you know, can you go back? You know, Ms. Bassett, and I said, yes, why not? Obviously, the light was kind of this and, you know, I was playing the new ball as well. So I wanted to just continue from that and let's see tomorrow morning what we decide again.

How did you decide between Abid Ali or Sean Massoud who was going to partner you? Right and left. Just as simple as that? Yeah, simple is that because three, four overs, right and left combination, you know, sometimes the lines of the ballers need to adjust, so that's why we're going to right and left. And who does make that decision? Is that was yours or did somebody, so maybe the coach say, are you up for it? Can you do it?

No, like when I went upstairs, obviously, there was some suggestion. Clearly I said I will go because I was feeling confident. confident. I want to obviously make sure that we don't lose many, you know, any wickets again tonight. And fortunately the light was finally called. Now it's been a tough test, disappointing test for you guys. You lost a really important toss it feels like on that first day. There's still a draw to play for, the bad weather around on the last day. That must give you encouragement, doesn't it? It could be that you've got to survive maybe a hundred overs. Well, as long as we are fighting in the middle, we are happy.

results will take care of itself if you bat well anything is possible on this pitch you know once even a pair gets in it looks sometime very impossible to get a wicket but you know considering the English bowling line up you had to work hard but we want to

take you know small step at a time As there is a great knock two tough days to come maybe but we'll see well done congratulations thank you very much the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live Well that was Azar Ali with Dan Norcross, and we should clarify that in theory, Asa doesn't have to open the innings on the fourth day.

Law 252 states that the innings of the opening batsmen only start at the call of play, which didn't happen tonight. For other batsmen, it's when they enter the field of play. So by law, Azar Ali doesn't have to open tomorrow as his innings hadn't started. So we'll wait and see what happens. Now, Dan also got some reaction from the England camp and spoke with the spinner Dom Bess. Domy else has been a relief to get bowling again after the last test match with the clouds and the rain around just great to get the ball back in your hand wasn't it? Yeah it is like I've just said then I think it's been a funny one obviously with the weather being around

it's been very seem friendly conditions and you look at our you look at our squad of seamers in terms of what we've got it's unbelievable unbelievable talent so I guess it's quite interesting as an English spinner what my role always. Like you said, I am very happy to get the ball back in my hands and get bowling again. But in terms of a unit, whatever I need to do for this side, I'll try and do it as best as I can. Well, with the follow on being the option, and we know why, because of the weather at the forecast of the back end, that sort of brings your role into a sharper focus, doesn't it? Because those seamers who may be seen to do the bulk of the work, but they need time off. You may have quite a few shifts to come yet. Yeah, hopefully. That's a

what I want as well. I want to be part of the unit. I want to be taking wickets. I think since day going into day four tomorrow, I think it's a pretty good wicket in terms of the actual main pitch, but I certainly do think there's rough coming on. And there was a couple of balls even today that I got to bounce spit. So hopefully as we go on, as the pitch wears, as we bowl more, I'll come a little bit more into the game. You came a little bit more. You came a little bit round the wicket as well because that obviously brings o b w into play is that a sign that there may be just starting to deteriorate a little bit the surface um yeah and also in terms of why i did it obviously it was 70 sort of fifth sixth over i sort of came around then again as well to try

and just tie them up try and obviously get to the 80th over um do a bit of the donkey work i guess and do you know what i mean just try and get get there but you see um yashir obviously good born he's nicked it through the slips. So in terms of a bit of, I guess, indecision in terms of it might spin a little bit. Obviously, you looked at the left hand and one sort of really did spit. So I guess coming round the wicket, I've got that

option of it kicking on and also spinning. Now, England's field, it was flawless for much of the day, two brilliant catches from Joe Root and exceptional catches from Josh Butler. And then there's a sort of a mad half hour. We could see Jimmy struggling with that. What do you put that down to? Genuinely,

it was very dark. It's no excuse in terms of catching it but um i don't honest view is um it was very dark out there and i was feeling square of the wicket um and i know i think joffre ball one to azam pulled one and i did not see it in terms of that um and it was head higher god forbid it go anywhere genuinely at me um because i think it was proper dangerous and obviously going into that having number 10-11 out there when you got something like Joffra bowling with a brand-new ball

it is very dangerous in terms of the players I know I'm all for getting the game going and getting it on but I think as well at times we've got to be quite sensible I think the reading out there was 430 the reading and I think we came off

last time for 700 and that 700's dark we came off at 430 so it just shows you probably how low the light level was. Well, it certainly did feel gloomy and we've got the clouds rolling in now as we speak. And that's going to be perhaps one of the bigger issues for England over the next couple of days. First part of the mission's accomplished, enforce the follow-on. How confident are you are you, you can finish it all off?

Yeah, very confident. If we weren't confident, then we shouldn't be here. Because I think, again, I know there's weather around, but even with that, you have breaks. I think it's much harder for the batters in terms of having those breaks having those continuous breaks having to try and get back in again you look at our bowling attack

James Anderson, Stuart Broad's countless wickets Joffra with his pace Chris Wokes his talent in England is unbelievable and then hopefully I can get a couple as well on the end just finally a quick word on James Anderson

we upstairs in the competition box sometimes fixate a little bit too much on milestones but 600 is massive as a team aware of how massive that is and you know does it mean as much to you guys as it seems to to us yeah 100 percent um 600 test wickets is an unbelievable achievement and um i think again even playing with him in terms of as a youngster watching him grow up i know myself zach dom ollie have all grown up watching him play and and to even be stood out there and I guess it would be, for me, as a fan of England cricket, I think it would be unbelievable that he takes 600.

Everyone is obviously behind him trying to grab hold of the catches as well to make sure that happens. But he's England's greatest. Job, thanks very much. All the best of luck tomorrow. Cheers, thank you very much. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. We've been spending a lot of time this summer in Southampton, of course.

because so many international games being played here at the GES Bowl because of the COVID crisis. And this part of the world actually has links with two test match special broadcasting. Legends, of course, John Arlett, who commentated on TMS. The final time 40 years ago next month was born down the road in Basingstoke. Meanwhile, Brian Johnson had a family holiday home in Swanwich, just, what, 50 miles from here, I suppose, in Dorset. His family had come down every summer.

and late in his life he actually chose his burial site Godlington Cemetery it's not actually in Swanage, it's just on the outskirts of the town and I took the chance to visit him before this test match we're going to celebrate Brian Johnston and John Arlett this lunchtime by playing an excerpt from a podcast which our colleagues Daniel Norcross and Adam Collins made during lockdown is called Calling the Shots, it tells the history of cricket commentary

and in this excerpt they're paying tribute to Johnston and John Arlett with contributors including the former TMS producer Peter Baxter and the cricket historian and broadcaster David Frith. Well, he was already a man of some achievement, young Arlott. He was a policeman in Southampton during the war, experienced the blitz on the south coast, lost friends. But I remember him pointing out to me once when we were driving through the streets of Southampton

coming in from the airport, a factory doorway. And he said, I stood in that doorway. for five nights in a row while they were bombing the docks. So he'd done his stint on the beat, but as he pounded the beat, he'd been writing poetry. And he sent some of this to John Betchman, who he'd met before. And Betchman sent it on to the BBC,

and the BBC invited Arlott to join them as a literary producer in the BBC Eastern Service. It was a pretty chaotic scene. After the war, everybody was looking for work. So the country was peace. itself together, it was pretty chaotic and John's talent just shone through. However chaotic the scene, how does a man go so rapidly from being a literary producer to a cricket commentator?

In the Eastern Service, in 1946, the start of 1946, they were having one of their Monday morning meetings and someone realised that an Indian cricket team, the first touring team to come to England after the war, was about... to arrive and they looked around themselves and said we really ought to be covering this but do anyone in the department know anything about cricket and Arlett put his hand up and said well I do and the head of the section said have you ever done a cricket broadcast before and Arlett slightly bent the truth by saying that he'd done he said that yes he had and in fact all he had done was one feature on Hambleton on that basis however he was sent off to cover

the first few matches of the tour. And this was received so well back in India, the BBC's man in Delhi sent a cable back to the Eastern Service saying, I don't know who this chap is, but you must keep him on because he's going down a storm here. And so Arlet was encouraged to do the rest of the summer, following the Indian team around. Initially, reservations about Arlet's suitability

were driven less by his lack of cricketing experience than his vocal delivery. Here is Arlitt himself, recalling Seymour de Labiniere's rather blunt feedback. His old Lobby said, I listened to you, he said, I think he's got a very vulgar voice. Matter of that, he said, can't understand why people want to listen to it. But you've got an interesting mind, he said, and I think you better continue. It was pretty good, Lobby, really. He was a harsh critic, but his criticisms were invariably right.

And, of course, mine was and is a vulgar voice. And that pretty high-pitched, tense, pilot voice was, it certainly made an impression. It was so different from everything else that was coming across. It was BBC pronounced English in those days. And there wasn't much taste for regional variations. This was something people hadn't heard before. It was almost as if he put the plough to one side and come off the field to do it. a little bit of sports commentary.

Most people found it refreshing. Then the first Ashes series in England since the war took place in 1948. Ten years had passed since Len Hutton had made that world record score and since Brabman had retained the urn. This would be the Don's fourth and final visit as he bade farewell to the international game. Despite the pasting England were copping up the hands of the invincible Australians for the interest and time on the air only grew through the series.

Why? The same reason radio had emerged as such a potent force to begin with, the man who changed the game forever. Here's the applause for Bradman as he comes in. Yes, of course we have that classic commentary to finish the series when Rex Alston handed over to Arlott as Bradman came in to play his last innings. There's a wonderful reception.

The whole crowd is standing, and the England team are joining in and led by Yardley. Three cheers for the dawn. Does he get to the wicket? Bradman is now a taking guard. Hollis is going to bowl at him. And John Arlott shall describe the first ball. So come on, John.

And then John Arlott takes over for probably the most famous delivery in cricket history. Well, I don't think I'm as deadly as you are, Rex. I don't expect to get a wicket. But it's rather good to be here when Don Bradman comes into back his last test. And now here's Holley's to bowl to him. From the Vauxhall end, he bowls.

Bradman goes back across his wicket and pushes the ball gently in the direction of the houses of play. Parliament, which are out beyond mid-off. It doesn't go that far. It merely goes to Watkins at Silly Mid-off. No runs, still 117 for one. Two slips, a Silly Mid-off and a forward short leg close to him, as Holley's pitches the ball up slowly, and he's bold. Bradman, bold Holley's naught. Bold Holley's naught. And What do you say under those circumstances?

I wonder if you see a ball very clearly. In your last test in England, the ground where you played out some of the biggest cricket of your life, and where the opposing team have just stood around you and given you three cheers and the crowd has clapped you all the way to the wicket. I wonder if you really see the ball at all. Arlott was at the peak of his considerable powers and the cricket provided him with plenty of scope

to unfurl his wide array of shots. has redeemed itself with the last hour of flawless sunshine and Laker comes in again hair flopping, Bowles turns it on to Manick Appeals, he's out LBW and Lakers taking all ten. The first man to congratulate him is Ian Johnson and England have won by an innings and 170 and Laker has taken all ten wickets for 53 in the second innings all 10 for 53 Truman in again bolster hawk and hawk goes forward and he's caught there's the 300 there was no nicer touch than Truman congratulating hawk Caught by Cowdery.

Neil Hawk can never have come into the pavilion to a greater ovation in his life, but they weren't looking at him. Fred Truman's 300 test wicket, the first man in the history of cricket to achieve the figure. There is about Dexter when he chooses to face fast bowling with determination, a sort of air of command that lifts him or seems to to lift him above ordinary players. He seems to find time to play the fastest of bowling and still retain dignity, something near majesty, as he does it.

There's a wonderful line from a letter that was written to him in 1947 when he first went on the domestic commentary from Dillon Thomas, the poet, saying, you're not only the best cricket commentator, far in a way that, but the best sports commentator I've heard ever. exact, enthusiastic, prejudiced, amazingly visual, authoritative and friendly. A great pleasure to listen to you. They all get down then and in comes Barlow now to Wilson, bolster him, he goes forward and it pops up and he's caught.

He's caught a forward short leg and Barlow is poised in an altogether different melodramatic pose which says done it at last and he has got his action. Arlott had established himself as cricket's most beguiling voice. Like Alan Gibson, he had stood as a Liberal Party candidate at the 1959 general election, and by the late 60s, he felt confident enough in his position at the BBC to tackle head-on the burning sporting issue of the age, apartheid. He was conscious that he might get himself into trouble, taking us, if you like, what was regarded as a political stance.

But actually he was given quite reasonable reassurances that that would be all right. By the late 60s, the BBC had its first cricket correspondent. That was Brian Johnston. Now, Brian had a very different view about the South African involvement. He reckoned that the tour should go ahead and they couldn't see that there was a problem. And while Arlett ruled the radio waves, Johnston had been the star caller on the BBC's televised cricket broadcasts since 1946. And just like the radio crew, he was on-air calling when Laker claimed his 10th, Truman his 300th, and when England saved the unsavable at Lords in 1963.

He's out. 10 wickets to Laker. That's it, he got in, 310 wickets. And the batsman the first foot brought in. They will put everything into this. Look at him, just gathering his last breath. Yes, they're sucking in there. Last ball, now.

It's a draw. It's a draw. It's a draw, England to save the game. When Johnston returned from the war with the military cross, he was determined to live life to the full. He initially had great success in variety programming, which led to prominent roles at royal events, such as a King's funeral in 1952

and the Queen's coronation the year after. But ahead of the 1970 season, Johnston was dumped from his TV commentary gig. The reason given was that his natural frivolity on air was no longer desirable for that medium. By now, Hudson had left the TMS box and moved to management. installed as head of outside broadcasts he saw an opportunity. He instinctively sensed that Johnston's waggish ways would work a treat on radio

and he saw it in simple terms. Why couldn't they expand the calling cast to accommodate a bona fide national treasure? Only good could come of it. Sure enough, it was a perfect fit. Radio was much more his natural metier. What he did was he sort of popularised the programme. He made it more accessible. He probably brought a new audience

to hear Arlett. When John has arrived and freed it up a little bit made it more conversational. It was all much more jolly. A journalist started writing about Test Met Special. John has opened us up

to a wider audience because he'd brought another audience with him from television. Arlott understood that Brian's frivolity was another way of approaching the game. And Lily setting now a field of immense hostility,

two short legs, four slips, Two gullies. Only one man out, that's Davis. And the crowd now, as the sun and the beer combined, do their work away in the distance, letting out the chant of Lily, Lily, Lily, and appealing for some quite remarkable non-events. For Arlett, it was only right, even though he was a reluctant tourist, that he was in Melbourne to commentate that historic centenary test. His days were voluntarily numbered, but despite failing health, his powers on the mic still shone through as he rose to the biggest of occasions. Now difficult, not only the ball and maiden over, but apparently the ball and maiden balls.

Gilmock comes in, bowls, and Lloyd hits him. I.O. A little bit of a foot. A stroke to the man, knocking the fistletop off for the walking stick. No trouble at all. And it takes Lloyd to 99. Oh, how tragic. Tragic, how tragic, how tragic. We welcome World Service with the news that Randall has just this minute been sacrificial run out, and England are 52 for three. The summarisers respected John so much that they wouldn't say anything.

I mean, you never interrupted John Arlett. You never talked over John Arlett. It was very strict, talk between overs, and that was it in those days. The sounds of time, though, were cascading through the hourglass. The strain on Arlott's health was getting too. much. The test match special long-time patriarch decided to call it a day at Lords for the second centenary test in 1980 at the age of 66. Naturally it was with the minimum of fuss. I had said though why don't you do the last session of the

day to finish off and he said no I don't want to do anything different so at ten past three he finished. That's the end of the over at 69 foot till and after Trevor Baddy it will be Christopher Martin Jenkins. And just like that, after 30 years of the commentary for the BBC Consum Radio And just like that, after 33 years on air, the North Star of TMS was done. And we all applauded in the back of the commentary box

and Trevor, who was on with him, paid a little tribute. Arlett then had to scuttle off to the news box to do a piece for the PM programme on Radio 4. The applause was for John Arlott. This is last commentary. And Trevor, the entire Australian field is clapping. Jeff Boycott having a clap there,

I'm sure the entire ground, clapping at that announcement. A moment indeed of nostalgia in a very nostalgic match. So he was never aware of what happened on the field because at the end of the next over, the ground announcer, Alan Curtis, announced to the crowd that at the end of the previous over,

John Arlott had done his last test. match commentary. And the players of both sides out in the field, I remember Jeff Boycott was batting, they turned and looked up at the commentary box and applauded. It was a lovely moment. It was very sad that I don't think Arlett was aware of it at all when it happened. A sad moment it was, but a moment that said so much, not just about Arlett, but about Test Match Special. But yes, it does represent the affection that Test Match Special seems to have received in the in the eyes of the listeners. In the absence of Arl at TMS was now

by any measure that John has showed. With the new cast from the 1970s bedded in, there was a consistency of purpose from test to test, underpinned by the main man's irrepressible playfulness. A streaker has arrived, a very, very obvious streaker, and he's running on,

he is holding some sort of hat in his hand, he's got socks and shoes on, wrist's off, very bare form. He climbed over the board and it was hardly thought and it was a little bit painful for him, I think. You heard the oo from the crowd. This was also the era of the TMS nickname. Don Mosey became the alderman,

Bailey the Boyle, Truman, Sir Frederick. Scorer Bill Frendel, comparatively anonymous on air to that point, was routinely called upon his Johnston's bearded wonder. Well, Brian set the tone. He transformed Test Match special from that tight cricket program to a soap opera, really, with these characters that he sort of created an enlarged. And Sir Frederick, with his pipe chuntling away in the background.

You can see Ian Botham looking at Dennis Lilly, and he is enjoying it immensely. Dennis is not enjoying, of course, he's the bowler. But Ian Botham is certainly enjoying himself out there, and when he hit Dennis Lilly through the covers for four off the back foot, a majestic shot, I think, would be the word. Oh, it's wonderful, wasn't it? You wouldn't see a better shot if you lived till you were 250.

Magnetiful, show. And he's really enjoying it. Trevor. Just a man of few words, literally. He really, it was a superb, square cut. Flash to the boundary. No one moved. Went like a rocket.

And then you had, you had Chris and you had Henry and all of that. Here's Willis in, bows to Bright. Bright bowled! The middle stands out of the ground. England have won. They've won by 18 runs. runs around punching the air the boys invade the ground and the players run helter-skelter for the pavilion well what a finish a phenomenal performance by Bob Willis and Australia

all out for 111 it's not just a sports program because that tradition of the characters involved in it has endured and sitting in the middle of it all pulling the strings and make of the audience an additional character in the cast was Johnston love for this approach wasn't universal, especially from those who grew up with Arlitz's more serious disposition, but it was integral in growing TMS the institution. The sillier things got, the better it seemed to work. I had a letter after the West Indies have played the Oval. He said, Mr. Johnson, she said, I enjoy all the commentaries very much. You must be more careful. A lot of young people listened in. Do you know what you said the other day? And she then said, well, when we came over,

Michael Helding was throwing to be to Willie. You said, welcome to the Oval. Well, the bowler's holding, the bats was Willie. it. Brian Johnson would watch neighbours. He'd sit there with a portable telly, eating his sandwich, and he'd fun at Paul Getty afterwards, and they'd chat about what Mrs Mangal was up to,

and then you'd welcome listeners back to Test Match Special. I mean, it was bizarre, and so you'd hand out as a cake started. You know, well, the players coming off at tea, lucky old them, they'll be going for some cake, don't worry about us, join us again in 15 minutes, and that's when the first cake turned up

because somebody felt sorry for Brian's. Ah, yes. cakes. I got a call from the press office at Buckingham Palace saying that her majesty wanted to give us a cake. It was an amazing moment, a quite extraordinary moment. Brian Johnston said it's just a bunch of friends going to a test match and talking about it. And I think somewhere in the mix of all that is probably how it sits in the nation's affections. TMS under Johnston was conferring increasing celebrity on its performers. And now, With one lunchtime slot to fill on a Saturday when they didn't have to revert to Radio 3's musical offerings,

it seemed the most natural thing in the world to bring in celebrities to sprinkle further stardust on the programme. Over the four decades since View from the Boundary started in 1980, the acclaimed guests have kept rolling in. Well, our distinguished guest is sitting watching a game of blind cricket. It's a marvellous game, and they're enjoying it out there in the middle. And watching it is Peter Toul. What a morning's cricket today, Peter? Musharraf, Pakistan, Tarbu and Becky, Nelsonman. was a view from the boundary by interviewed him.

It's ridiculous for people that you have access to. And when Johnston wasn't describing the astounding feats of Ian Botham in that epic summer of 1981, he was reporting on the air to the throne's nuptials. Now I get my first sight of the bride and down the steps will come the two bridesmaid who are they're waiting for now. By the end of the decade, much as it was 20 years earlier, there were challenges on the horizon.

The Thatcher government put the frightners up TMS in 1989 when legislating that the BBC would be forced to relinquish to radio frequencies. And unfortunately, one of them was Radio 3 Medium Wave, our network. So suddenly we were going to be without a home. And as the 90s started, questions were asked in the House of Commons about the future of Test Match Special. Yet again, the programme was facing an existential crisis. The message was clear. Ball-by-ball commentary for every day of play could no longer be guaranteed.

Enter Jonathan Agnew. Despite not being a disciple of the programme, Agnew quickly learned the ropes. I think if I had had the sort of history of just being glued to Test Match Special and being a TMS junkie, I would have found it much more nerve-wracking that first day when I walked into Headingley. I hadn't actually ever done any commentary on anything. So all I did, that first summer, apart from the last test, was to be a summariser, and then I made my debut.

Graham Gooch, 99, not out wait till now as Ramanaika starts to move away from us, parts the disc, bowls the Gooch, is pitched up, he drives hard towards Midon, that'll be it. Excellent diving stop there by Midon, cuts off a boundary. The Gooch completes the single, raises his bat high. He's on 100 not out, his 15th test century. I mean, come on, I was learning from the best. I was learning that summer from Brian, from Tony Cozier, from Chris Martin Jenkins, Don Mozy. And he developed an instant rapport with the main man.

Yeah, I was only 31 at the time. Johners was, what, um, 70, 81, 81, wasn't it? Yeah. So there was this sort of, like a granddad gap. And before Agney's first season was over, he and Johnston had combined unwittingly on air to produce one of the most played pieces of cricket commentary ever. Hangas, for goodness sake, thom it?

Yeah, it's Lawrence. It seemed me well. But initially they were far from convinced that they had a hit on their hands. He hit a fore over the week he was head. And it didn't see not a great career move at the time because Brian Johnston was so hacked off about it that he stomped out of the box. He felt he'd let the side down,

that it was stupid and everything else. And he was really very grumpy. His son Barry told me how he got home that night and was really quite forlorn about the whole thing. It was only the next day when the letters started coming. And also the today program, I did the day program the next morning. And Gary Richardson played it. And everyone was laughing, of course.

in today's studio. I thought, Alan, it might turn out all right after all. From 1991 to 1993, after losing their long-term home on Radio 3, TMS had been channel hopping. In 1994, at last, the programme found a new home. And not any new home either. The promised land of Radio 4 Longwave. Johnston, by now a CBE was personally consulted by BBC management before the move was given the go ahead. Needless to say, all in sundry were thrilled with this development. The future of Test Match Special then was very much in the balance. It really was. And as I said, it was because they could put Brian Johnston out there who had a massive influence with, you know, the director general and all this sort of stuff. And Brian was just an icon.

But sadly, TMS would enter the Brian New World of Radio 4 without the man who had made it possible. On the 5th of January 1994, Brian Johnston died from complications after suffering a heart attack five weeks earlier. the bosses at Radio 4 were unhappy but there was nothing they could do the deal had been sealed and at some point I said what you're saying is that if Brown Johnson

had died a month or two earlier you would not have us at all and they said that's exactly what we're saying yes I doubt if he hadn't been around I doubt would have done it and I don't know where

Test Match Special would have gone but it was built around this massive character and just radio genius. In the three years where the pair did cross over, Johnston left a lasting impression on the man who would now helm the show on Radio 4. Brian and I did have an amazing relationship.

It'd last long enough, unfortunately. It was only three years, but we were just so similar. And he had a massive influence on me. Not to a broadcaster I'd want to be, but I wouldn't have the courage to have been it. Brian sort of gave me the wings, if you like, to do it in his style. You're talking to the person at the other end of the radio, and that's what the programme is all about.

He tried to step over the stumps and just flipped a bail with his right. He tried to do the splits over it, and unfortunately the inner part of his side must have just removed the bail. He just didn't quite get his leg over. Anyhow, he did very well indeed, badly 131 minutes and hit three-fours. Eggers do stop him. always entertaining batty for 35 35 minutes

hit a fall over the weekkeepers Angus for goodness for for this sake of it in yes Lawrence Louis Lawrence seemed me well

he hit hit a hit four over the week he was head, and he was out from the alley, and Tuffle King, bad in 12 minutes, and it was caught by Haynes on Pants number two, and there were 54 extras,

and I think they were all out for 419. I've stopped laughing now. This is the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Well, it had to finish that way, didn't it? Our thanks to Dan Norcross and Adam Collins for putting that together. Now over on the BBC Sport website now you can have a go at selecting your England player of the test summer from a short list of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Joss Butler, Zach Crawley, Ben Stokes and Chris Wokes. You can check out the BBC I player for our highlights programme today at the test. And Talking TV, don't forget next Sunday you'll be able to watch the England-Pakistan T20 live on BBC 1.

We're back on air for the fourth day of this test at 1015 on 5 live sports extra with Radio 4 Longwave listeners joining at 10.5. BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.