³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

I have thoroughly enjoyed the recent Ashes series especially the contribution by Tuffers, who added some humour and levity along with his knowlege of the game. Many thanks and long may he continue to grace the airwaves.

No coincidence that Tuffers the Cat is King of the Jungle!

Tuffers, Tuffers, burning bright
In the forests of the night
His jests are always warm and witty
He takes two sugars in his tea

Good to hear Tuffers will be in there!

Problem is, as i have stated on several previous occasions, the limited access to TMS continues to frustrate. In my car, which i spend a lot of time in, i have neither LW or Digital so i cannot access the coverage (and no, the LW frequency is not at the bottom of the range before anyone suggests that). In certain areas 720MW can be picked up but it is at best...terrible reception. Please, please, please can the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ do something about this. Put it on a decent MW or FM channel and let us all tune in!!

I have raised this issue on several blogs and sent many emails and, to this date, have neve received comment from anyone at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.

Adam...please can you advise!!!!

Adam could we get a comment from either the England coaching teach or an international coach on whether football should still be used as part of the warm-up / warm-down? The chat blogs are hot with the debate...

Maybe they should try dancing instead?

Matty Hayden was fantastic in TMS, knowledgeable passionate and not afraid of taking on some the more established TMS voices. Having read JL's blog on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, I have no doubt's he will be equally entertaining. Rodney Hogg however has been awful in the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ news on the morning of the tests, so myopic he makes Bill Lawry sound like Ghandi.

Not sure I can join in with the back-slapping. I thought Matthew Hayden was excellent, but on occasions, the commentaries became very blokey and self-congratulatory (I say this as a bloke who often congratulates himself, by the way).

Why can't we have more of Graham Gooch, who is a brilliant summariser and also explains to listeners precisely what is happening and why? Alec Stewart is also first class - and Boycott is irreplaceable. Tuffers - not so sure, and Victor sounds a bit past his sell-by date.

Boycott in lycra and the glitzy costume .............now there's a thought.................

#3 dobbieblog

Get a Pure Highway, plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car and converts the car radio to DAB. Aggers and Jacqui Oatley, amongst others, have used them and reckon they're great - you can pick one up for about under £60.


Adam, thanks for the heads-up, sounds a great team! Boycott on Strictly, now there's an image to conjure with............ ;o)

@6 - I agree with EJ Morgan about Graham Gooch, as good a summariser as he was batsman. Among his many batting achievements, I remember Gooch for his 333 + 123 = 456. Why, the man's got the class of Euclid himself!Bring him on.

Rodney Hogg is too partisan for TMS - the audience wants balance and insight not a one-sided rant.

Can't you get Kerry O'Keeffe?

I'll be watching the ODIs, weather and timing permitting as an expat here in Brisbane. The TV coverage is pretty good with a panel of Stuart McGill, Damien Martyn, and Greg Matthews. Why is Bopara still being picked? He needs time off to think about where he is going. At the moment it's to the scrapheap and a friend needs to tell him that in no uncertain terms. What's this about an injury to Denly? Playing football as a warm-up is just stupid. There's too much of a risk of over-enthusiasm leading to falling, and/or over-stretching, with torn ligaments or muscles. Provided they do enough muscle-building exercise between matches, and keep control of their weight - already a problem with some of them, a brisk walk and appropriate stretching is all that is needed immediately before playing cricket.

#8 Syds_Sports

Thanks for that, a better response than the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ care to offer. Just a thought......perhaps i can deduct the cost from my licence fee?

#3 dobbieblog

I'm often in my car in the NE of England and use 603 MW; it works well for me up here - worth a try?

Vic Marks is top dog for me. Intelligent, insightful and always a dry whimsical humour. Tuffers is okay in small doses but a bit of a ham act to my mind 'cor blimey'. I also enjoyed Mat Hayden this summer.

It's the variety that makes it so test match special.

Ian Murray

please don't take TMS off LW or I won't be able to listen in under my peach tree in France

tuffers and haydo were good listening

Tuffers has been a superb addition to the TMS team - quite a revelation in fact. But I worry about the continued use of Boycott. At times there is open animosity between him and the other presenters. His 'Yorkshire grit' comes across as just down right rude at times. And how many times must we listen to his 'in my day' guff?

Sorry but he's past his sell by date.

Tuffers and Boycs are a great combination as summarisers. Tuffers brings a cheerful, but logical and sensible,comment to the game, Boycott is not daft when it comes to scoring runs, and sees all the failings of the current batsmen. Our disappointment is that TMS/³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ is all too keen to use Henry Blofeld as the face of TMS when any publicity is needed, but does not always use him on the day (witness the use of Blowers on 'Today' at the start of the 5th test, and even the sports reporter on Today saying he was sitting in Blowers seat, when we all knew he was not in the commentary team).Would much rather listen to Blowers, Boycs and Tuffers plus visiting team's commentator, CMJ and Agnew, than all the others dragged in (Vic Marks -what a droning misery!)

Tuffers has turned himself into a first rate and versatile entertainer across many different fields. His contribution to TMS this summer has been enjoyable and instructive throughout.
As for Blofeld, I don't mind him acting as the programme's front man as long as he is kept well away from the commentary box. It is only when you watch the match on television while listening to the radio that you realise how inaccurate his commentary is. When he says 'Bopara fields at square leg', there is a good chance it is Broad at 3rd man. Perhaps this explains the absence referred to in Longaman's post above.

Perhaps cricket commentary should have a transfer window like soccer:

TMS:
In : Tufnell
Out: CMJ, Gooch, Stewart, Boycott

Sky:
In: Warne
Out: Hussain

#13 Morpethian

Thanks for the tip, i will give it a go but i tend to go up and down the frequencies at the start of any match in the unlikely event that the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ have improved the access, so i don't hold out a lot of hope. However, at least you have bothered to respond unlike the Beeb!!!

Adam...where are you?...this is an important issue, you must be missing out on a lot of listeners.

TUFFERS IS THE GOOD, INFORMATIVE AND FUNNY
VIC HAS INSIGHTS TO THE GAME WITH DRY HUMOUR
BOYCOTT IS ALWAYS NEGATIVE AND BRINGS UP THE 50,S
CMJ,AND AGNEW ARE GREAT
AS A SCOTSMAN I HAVE LISTENED TO TMS ON LW FOR
30 YEARS.UP HERE DIGITAL IS NOT SO GOOD
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK TMS

Sorry to correct a tiny point in Adam Mountford's article, but it's good news: the RAF's "Battle Of Britain" Memorial Flight Lancaster, which overflew Lord's recently, is not the only remaining flying Lancaster. There is another, which resides at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario (see .

Not only is this Lancaster still taking to the air; it is also perfectly possible to buy a ticket to ride in it.