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Glad to hear the TMS team will be suitably looked after for this Test. Looking forward to it as always and, if England can level the series, what a grand finale we could be in for!

I have one moan though, a moan that i have aired previously but never had a response to. Accessibility to TMS via the airwaves has become problematical to say the least. I spend a great deal of time travelling around in the car but unfortunately, as with most recent cars, the radio does not have LW. Neither does it have Digital so therefore the only channel is 720MW. This however is very poor reception and most of the time not worth listening to. Surely the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ should provide a better MW channel or, even better, an FM channel. Having just got the rights to broadcast again i would think this is something you should address sooner rather than later. Is there anything in the pipeline...please!

That said, keep up the good work!

Looking forward to the next five days of cricket in the company of Test Match Special.

Here's hoping it's a great match, more of the locals turn out in force, and the pitch has got a bit of pace and bounce in it.

Hoping for at least one brave selection by England rather than predictable safety first option (If in doubt stick with the Ashes 2005 player)!

The contrast in facilities you highlight maybe moderninty catching up with the carribean thanks to the World Cup.

Touring the Carribean as a fan used to be about the eccentricity, sitting with the locals and soaking up the atmosphere of the surroundings that matched the culture and WI spirit.

Now I'm not so sure they do.

re. Jonathan Agnew's interview with Giles Clarke.

I hope he asks him how he thought he (Clarke) would get away with not being thought of as unbelievably naive by becoming involved with an American businessman who had probably never seen a game of cricket in his life! And who apparently landed at Lords in a helicopter! Does Giles Clarke have any idea of the history and sense of dignity that has (usually) been present in this great game. How he managed to keep his job after the whole fiasco is not only mystifying but a sad indicitement of how the upper echelons of the game think they are able to run. or even ruin. cricket.

All that apart, I am looking forward to another good England performance that will enable us to level the series and then leave it open for us to wrap it up in the final test. Keep Harmison in, i'm sure he will eventually turn it around.

Meanwhile, serious cricket fans are settling in for South Africa v Australia in Jo'burg! Kick-off in 35 minutes, but no mention on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ website!

Correction, I overlooked your pre-view! Sorry!

(Writing from Brisbane, as a Pom I'm expecting continued SA dominance over Australia's weakest side for years.) (But may not be weak enough to lose the Ashes.)

Re: No1 - dobbiblog TMS/LW in cars
FYI - Be aware of the possible "hidden" LW - my car "hasn't got" LW either - just AM and FM with no digital and the salesperson "knew" that it didn't have LW - until they found out that in that case I wasn't going to buy the car. They then checked with an engineer who knew that LW was in fact hidden away at the bottom of AM - the tuning just carries on down past the bottom of AM so I listen on 198 "AM"
Worth a look...

I second ArcherA4's comment. I was initially made to feel like a refugee from another era when I asked at Halfords if my new car stereo would have LW, but a little investigation revealed that - contrary to dobbieblog's understanding - most recent cars DO have LW, exactly as Archer A4 explains. In fact, TMS being broadcast on LW is a great gift, as it enables one to enjoy the cricket even whilst motoring in France or Belgium.

To ArchieA4 and Orlenok, many thanks for the information however LW is not on my newer car radio.

You are correct with respect to my previous car radio, i used to tune in to 198LW found at the bottom of the dial but sadly this is not avaiable on the current model.

I agree that LW is useful when travelling around but i just can't get it. The ideal solution would be an option of LW, MW or FM.....come on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, help us out!

I bet you've had this one before -

TMS, what brilliant coverage.

The only time you ever need it is when you are unable to listen to UK radio. i.e. you are overseas.

But this is exactly when you can't get it..."Available to UK broadband users only" and all that.

Pourquoi? Are you trying to convert us all to baseball?

Thanks

Following Collingwood's ill-fated attempt to slog a six to reach his century, Vic Marks commented that perhaps there is a bet on amongst the English players. Whatever the reason for this rash of slogging when within reach of a ton, it seems to me the kind of behaviour that should be stamped out.
It is nothing short of a disgrace and if I were the manager of the team I would not hesitate to take the lads concerned and have a very serious word with them. It is an insult to the great players of the game that more care and a straight bat is not shown at this stage of an innings. Can anyone seriously imagine Boycott or Peter May or Jim Laker playing a shot like Collingwood's when in reach of a hundred?

By the way, is it true that Jim Laker nearly became a professional cyclist before he decided to concentrate on cricket?

I agree with 'stuntguitar' that it is a mystery how Giles Clarke has not been told to resign or be sacked. I heard Jon Agnew's interview and it was clear that Clarke intended to show not one iota of remorse about the whole sorry Stanford affair.

Clearly this so-called 'robust' defence was a strategy designed to keep himself in the job, but it simply added to the impression that here is a man who cares most about himself, and has little respect for the dignity of the game as a whole.

Collingwood's attempt to reach his century in Barbados a la KP in the first test at Sabina Park should not be criticised. When a batsman has patiently batted to get to 94, why does he feel such compelling urgency to post 100 is a question that can be best answered by the batsman to himself.

Regardless of what bravado reply they give to the public, I am sure inside they are embarrassed to have lost the patience and objectivity. The guilt of their pursuit of the personal landmark overruling the team interest can also not fail to gnaw at their heart. The procrastination is much more pernicious in limited over formats than in Tests.
The bigtime century makers Gavaskar and Tendulkar have undergone this torturous phenomenon many times in their careers. Many a time they were so diffident in taking the next step that team interest suffered even more due to inordinate delay caused by their dithering . Many a times they still failed and many a time fell soon after, to the euphoria generated by the ton. Their gawking at the milestone earned them a notoriety that once prompted captain Rahul Dravid in a test match in Pakistan to issue an ultimatum to Tendulkar who was on the verge of a double hundred. 'ok x overs or I declare'. Tendulkar was still worse than a snail and Rahul declared, copping a lot of criticism for the crass decision. Crass because although the declaration was supremely in the team interest, the result still eluded the Indians.
Tendulkar's 6,7 year old son had to face so much flak from his peers that he felt obliged to advise the legend to hit a six or get out. No loitering around that made the junior a laughing stock. These days, though Tendulkar does not always manage to hit a six, he no longer gawks.

B-O-R-I-N-G

Deep into day four and we still haven't completed two innings. Dreadfully slow pitch. Anyone else tired of test cricket on these slow batsman-friendly tracks?

Jo'burg on the other hand is perfectly poised going into day five.

Yeah, the pitch is flat in Barbados - but if England had played 5 bowlers they probably wouldn't be in the trouble they now find themselves.

The thing is, that's home advantage coming in to play. That's what home advantage is for. They want to defend their 1-0 lead, so that's one of the tools at their disposal.

That's why it's so hard to understand the ECB's decision to play the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, where England have never completed a game. They know nothing about the pitch or how it will behave or respond, thus the home advantage is wiped out.

Might as well play it in Dubai if they wanted a neutral venue - at least it would be sunny there.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ advantage, defending your lead and all that ... that's a fair comment.

Unfortunately test cricket on these flat pitches continues to be the loser. Is it the overpowering TV continuing to call the tune. Ensuring all these matches go the full distance?

A really good track from recent memory was England's 2nd test in New Zealand. A pitch with good pace and carry over five days - two mediocre sides played an excellent test match.

I'm in the UK, and is still isn't that easy to listen to TMS.
I'd listen to it more than I do, except my company blocks the internet page, so listening online is out. A lot of companies are doing that now, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ take note - listening online is not the way forward.

That leaves me with Digital - fantastically clear, but only when I'm in the corner of my kitchen by the window listening on my portable DAB, or in my living room, listening via Freeview channel 706. Absolutely no reception on my portable DAB whatsoever at work. Not a squeak. Same in a shopping centre, or an airport.

So that leaves LW. My old transistor did have LW, but the reception is rubbish, and I can find LW in the car, but there is no reception at all. Just a lot of hiss.

So ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, beware of putting all your TMS eggs into the 'online/digital' basket'. Most of us can't hear you. Until companies are convinced that listening to TMS is a way of blocking out the office noise, which increases daily as the powers that be cram more and more people into my office, or Digital radio experts find a way of us picking up a signal once we set foot inside a building, then we're stuffed.
I'm interested to know how people in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ building in White City listen to ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio - on line or via Digital - if Digital, how do you get any reception inside the building?

Sorry to keep moaning on about the slow pitches... promise to shut up about it now. I just like to see a good even contest between bat and ball.

Thanks to TMS for the continued excellent coverage in the West Indies. I particularly enjoyed Phil Tuffers 90s recollections the other day. The Caribbean connection and recent English test cricketers with Gladstone Small today was really interesting.

Well it's I think 6 days now since the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ bothered to post a new thread and even
that was only about the comforts of the TMS special team and a plug for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's coverage, with nothing of substance on the test match to come.

And it's almost a month since we heard from Aggers on the TMS blog.

Aggers, where are you? I miss you!

Well...that was exciting wasn't it?

Cricket is a very funny Sport.

Just popped back to this blog hoping to see a response from Mr Mountford or indeed the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ....alas, there is none!

Glad to see though that i am not the only one left frustrated by the limited ways to listen to TMS. Come on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.....respond!

As for the last test, a real shame that the pitch prevented any sort of win. From a spectators point of view, what a game the last test could have been if it was one each going in.