³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Good news. Vaughan's a top class cricket brain and also doesn't take himself too seriously - a perfect combo for the TMS box.

all we need now is simon mann in for blowers and it will be perfect.

Great stuff. I thought Vaughan made a promising debut on Tuesday. Shot!

nice to hear that it will be exciting to see the views of michael on tms abt the tour of england against the proteas

Really please to hear that You have Michael Vaughan joining the team. He's very articulate and brings an awful lot of knowledge and experience to the team. I was very much looking forward to him going into commentary and am sure he'll be a success.

You will, however, have to stop calling him Vaughan, and refer to him as Michael, or Sir at the very least.

I hope all is forgiven over their little spat. Who cares if Aggers played only 3 tests? That's 3 more than most people.

I liked Vaughan as a player/captain ,however with tuffers we have enough comedians on TMS.What TMS needs is an opinion ,and a loyal to mates Vaughan is hardly going to critize his mates.Another rather bland insipid choice by TMS.

Sorry to be a pedant but I think the odds of winning 9 tosses out of 10 are not 1 in 512 but 10 in 1024. Maybe the original question was posed differently.

#6 - I think that's a pretty harsh assessment. Vaughan was never as 'matey' a captain as outward appearances suggested if you listen to those on the inside. He's also never been too shy of voicing an opinion either. From what I've heard today I think he'll be an excellent addition to the TMS team.

Also, think its fairly insulting to suggest that Tuffers was on TMS purely as a "comedian". He certainly did make me laugh, but I found that he had a huge amount of insight into the game and made some really interesting observations. Quite happy to have many more of those comedians.

Judging on the apperances this week Michael Vaughan is looking an excellent signing for TMS. I don't want to lose the good old pundits the likes of Vic Marks et all but having someone who played recently is alwasys a crucial part of the mix and of course a successful captain.

I just hope that Graham Gooch isn't the man squeezed out he is far to much underused, please Adam let us have just a little bit from from Goochie next season he is a class summeriser. But good signing well done.

What are they made of up in Yorkshire that they all become ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ "men" ? :

Trueman , Boycott , Gough had his own show, I think Illingworth also appeared occasionally and now Vaughan . Thinking about it though Yorkshire fans are always very opinionated ; good luck to Michael ( but how will he get on with Boycs !?)

Heard, Vaughny on the radio today and as you would expect he was top class. he is a great addition as Tuffers was.
please get rid of Blowfeld now, we want commentators who are entertaing but get the basics right such as the score and who is batting and bowling.
Blowfeld is mistake after mistake.

I haven't thought much of what I've heard of him so far. He just seems dull. I agree with #6 pramfashions, I think he's too close to many of the current England players to be able to offer honest opinion on them.

I disagree with mickemmo. Getting the score right and knowing immediately who is doing the fielding isn't what I particularly want from commentators. Malcolm Ashton is there to give the score and Blofeld's confusion is quite endearing. I hope Vaughan will get out of the habit of muttering "SHOT" before the commentator has described the play. It really could get frightfully irritating. I really do.

Blowers must stay he is a tms god as is aggers,cmj, vic marks, tuffers and the greatest living yorkshireman geoff.The lightweight too keen radio 5 rejects should be moved on first.

Chuffed Vaughan hasn't taken taken the easy money at Sky like most previous England captains. Nowt wrong with more Yorkshire! (Even if he was born in Manchester)

L A Odicean is spot on with his comments and his spelling of Blofeld !

One of the more astute decisions the England selectors can now make is to ask MV to unretire to assume the number three spot on the team which Ravi Bopara has categorically fumbled.

Certainly, he cannot do any worse that this failed experiment. Unfortunately for RB, he doesn't get to play West Indies everyday. Just reference Sri Lanka.

If this does not happen, MV will do very well in the commentary booth, thank you!

Henry Blofeld is one of the all-time best!

Whilst I have no doubt that Vaughan has a lot to contribute to the TMS team, it should not include the blasphemous language that I had to endure last evening.

I trust he will learn that there are many words in the English language and to take the name of Jesus in vain is absolutely wrong.

A public apology would be appropriate.

I listened to Mr Vaughan for the first time last night (6-0). I wondered if he might be trying to be too TMS-y too soon?

And certainly too mate-y when referring to his former team-mates; less of the 'personal' abbreviations, please!

As a TMS fan for over 40 years my opinion of Vaughn is that he needs to be told about the letter T. His talk about "ba in" instead of batting "ba ers" instead of batters becomes extremely irritating.

Regional accents are fine hence the success of Boycott and Gooch and the best of them all Edward Bevan on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Wales but none of them are sloppy with their speech which Vaughn most definitely is.

So TMS send him to elocution classes before we have to listen to him again.

Vaughan is quality, and yes the team needs pruning. Top of my list for the chop is CMJ. I think you could classify me as a "hater" or CMJ. A snob, a crashing bore, and one who constantly stumbles over basics such as who is batting/bowling, what the score is, how many balls left in the over. And that is all he has to say for himself anyway. Why he gets paid to do something he is manifestly mediocre at, on the national stage, can only be explained by the old boy network and the mistaken patronage of Brian Johnston. He should stick to writing, at least then he has days to look up something interesting to say. Blowers must stay for every single day of the rest of his life. He might be posh, but he is no snob and is soaringly entertaining and vivid in his approach, despite those errors.

Hi Adam,
TMS is the best thing on Radio and TV at the moment. The problem is, I really miss it when the cricket isn't on. Surely there's got to be mileage in a spin-off show, say like a cricket quiz show, set in an oak panelled living room with the team sat in wing backed chairs. Anything to keep them talking. Anyway, my essential current TMS team is...Aggers, CMJ, Vic Marks, Bay 13 Tuffers, Boycs & my dear old thing Henry Blofeld. Essential. Hopefully MPV will be a good addition

JiMax and Haydos were top guests this year.
PS.Got Sky HD this year but listened to more TMS than ever. Jeez, the sound of Michael Atherton's and Nazzers voice can send anyone to sleep.
DJJT.

I remember that Johannesburg morning well. Vaughan walking in on debut, England 2-4 and the mayhem caused by Donald and Pollock. What a handful those two were with the new ball.

I agree the recruitment of recently retired players keeps TMS moving forward without losing its essential essence. Matt Hayden - once he loosened up, filled the role superbly this summer, Phil Tufnell brings insight to go with the comedy. The old uns can still be relevant: TMS wouldn't be the same without the nucleus of Aggers & Vic Marks - plus occasional appearances by Angus Fraser and Graham Gooch. I wish Vaughan good luck in his new role. Who is going to be the South African analyst ... Shaun Pollock again ?

Once all this one-day nonsense is out of the way, looking forward to the SA Test series in the company of TMS.

It's irrational, but I just can't stick Michael Vaughan's comments. He seems keen to speak in players' jargon ("the right areas" "proper cricket shots") and make sweeping points ("if that ball had been six inches further pitched up the whole game would have turned") instead of a drip of useful information. I thought Peter Moores was really good at that in recent matches. Nothing flashy, just useful insights from his recent experience. Vaughan dealt in soundbites. And for me , he just has an irritating voice. His "ba ers" as someone else said is just grating and forced like a grammar school boy feeling he needs some street cred. I am looking forward to the SA commentary less now than I was. Incidentally, I though M. hayden in the Ashes was a revelation. Not only a recent player's perspective, but kept coming up with these really intersting "what-ifs." He makes Vaughan sound like TMS' version of Vicky Pollard.

i just wanted to agree with CollisKing that Matt Hayden's guest appearences this summer were a highlight. Great insight into the Australian team.

I love the old guard though - and the cakes.

Didn't hear last night, but this sounds like good news to me. TMS thrives on intelligent wit, cricketing knowledge and charisma of the team, all of which Vaughn always appeared to excel at when interviewed as captain. All those having a go at Henry need to lighten up - yes, he's a bit of a confised old duffer at times, but he conveys such a sense of sheer fun and enjoyment that far outweigh any lpses with the stats. I could listen to him all day and we definitely need more of him, not less. Tuffnell and Hayden have been excellent all summer and I'll welcome them back to my radio any time. Phil is perhaps the Henry of the future, in a way. I'd gladly see Boycott dropped, though - he's becomming a parody of himself and the chips on his shoulder seem to get bigger by the day. Entertaining as a bit of Geoffrey baiting can be (I still laugh remembering Agnew trapping him into virtually confessing to tax evasion a year or two back when there was a news story about benefit years or payment in kind or something), it gets a bit tiresome and is far outweighed by the repetitive and self-important droning.

EdVicoforte

I agree there was something forced about MV when I heard him last night, but honestly, when England is doing so badly it is difficult to know exactly what to say and stay positive. I expect he had lots of thoughts that were not for public consumption!

He is the most successful captain in living memory and as such it is going to be great to have his comments. Just give him a bit of time to feel his way into it.

Good luck to Michael Vaughan, I'm sure his strategic brain and insider knowledge will be major additions to the team.
TMS is a national treasure and an international force in the cricket world. Why? Because the TMS Team is world class. Within the TMS Team,both CMJ and Blowers I think are major voices in cricket and the love and respect they have for the game is there for all to hear. Not to mention the wonderful narratives of pigeons, passing buses and cakes. And the summarisers- from Michael Vaughan to Matthew Hayden (the discovery of the summer , surely), from Sir Geoffrey to Shaun Pollack return their respect, unlike they may do with 'lightweight too keen radio 5 rejects ' as Lancashiresage calls them. So I cant agree with gavinthegromit and mickmemmo. I don't think the big names would be as comfortable- and therefore open and entertaining with their views- in the commentary box if the likes of CMJ and Blowers weren't there with them.
My top TMS team- Aggers and Angus Fraser, CMJ and Boycs (love the North/South differences), Blowers and Vic Marks, with backup from Goochie, Vaughan and Tuffers.
Let's enjoy the legend that is TMS and the legends in the TMS commentary box!
Eat yer heart out Sky-TMS is living proof that the Murdoch shilling can't buy everything.

Great news of Vaughan. Good to see an England Captain not take blood money from sky!! I am sure Vaughan can develop into every bit as good an analyst of the game as Mike Atherton is on sky.

As for Blowers, my problem is the confusion he gets into. I can take the mistakes, its the just complete confusion he falls into all too regularly now. Maybe give him the old E W Swanton gig of summing the day up at the end, but other wise put him out to pasture, would be my advice.

Any news on a comeback for Graeme Fowler - have always enjoyed his dry wit and considered summarising.

It's great to have Michael Vaughan on the TMS team. EdVicoforte who is complaining that he speaks with a Yorkshire accent should grow up, and actually listen to what the man has to say. The days when the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ used only commentators with RP are in the dim and distant past.

There have been very few sportsmen in any kind of sport who have been so adept with the media as Vaughan; I for one always listened to his interviews pre- and post-match with great pleasure, not least because he always had some interesting insight to give. I'm sure that when he gets settled in, MPV will be as incisive as a commentator as he was influential as a player.

I totally agree with CollisKing and Strandedingermany - Matthew Hayden was a excellent commentator during the Ashes. It's amazing to think that on the field he was one of the most foul-mouthed sledgers in the Aussie team. What a very welcome transformation.

It will be good to have experience and intelligence back in the TMS box. Aggers is a jovial soul, but knows little of Test cricket and is not the brightest button in the box. The inanity of the commentary since he joined the team infuriates my wife so much that she won't come into the room when TMS is on! That's a shame because we used to enjoy listening together.

On a different, but related tack, have you considered a discussion on Strauss' captaincy? I don't want to attack him, but his body language when things go badly is awful. It depresses me, never mind his team! Perhaps some assertiveness training might be useful? That was Michael's great strength. When the chips were down he played better, and somehow managed to transmit this to enough of the others to make a difference.

TMS are definitely on the up - Tuffers has proved more than his cheeky chappie image suggests, distinctive and certainly up to standard on the detail.
Matt Hayden was inspired, can he come back?!

As to MV, good news, another distinctive (and not home counties) voice. Must be a coup to have him and hopefully MV can rise to the challenges with more success than Ravi Bopara out in the middle. Intesting to see if he goes the matey approach or distances himself from his recent team mates. Whatever, new blood and anything to stop Gooch bigging up Cook and Bopara as soon as the rain falls !
Finally, I think it'll make Tuffers a better commentator as it'll be competition from the same era.

Great addition to the TMS team, with his in depth knowledge of the modern game and players currently on the international circuit.

I'm sure Michael won't pull any punches if he needs to criticise any of the guys who played alongside him, as suggested he may do by pramfashions!

Welcome onboard Michael.

girlondonblog is missing the point. Vaughn has an incredibly sloppy way of speaking. The Yorkshire accent is fine but the constant talk of "ba ers" and "ba in" is as awful as is his inane comments about his England mates.

i agree that Fowler should be brought back for his sharp wit and intelligent comments and please consign Vaughn to history as far as commentry is concerned.

Mr Mountford
The second rate Arlo White has appeared again-I can do without his 5 Live football type commentary--why do you use him when there is no shortage of excellent commentators? I can only hope he does not graduate to Tests! Hopefully,Mr Pougatch has been banished.
Earlier this summer the commentary was very good in the Tests--there is ,of course,the off button when the excitable Mr White comes along===by the way I am not old !!!!!. All the other new people are first-rate.

I wholeheartedly agree Blowers must stay. Yes he does make more than theoccasional mistake with the facts, but his larger than life grasp of the English language, and endearing accent make listening to what can be a very slow and tedious game at times, a pure Joy.

With Michael Vaughn the accent maybe slightly grating but as one of Englands finest captains over the past two decades should be able to offer valuable insight into the personalities andstrengths and weaknesses of todays modern players so should be given a chance to settle in. As for Tuffers hes just pure class!

Adam, when will you be announcing the winter plans for TMS?

I was slightly surprised there will be no Champions Trophy commentary, not so dissapointed due to the expected England performances.

When will we know who you will be using alongside Michael Vaughan in South Africa and will the Bangladesh tour recieve any coverage and anything like the Champions League?

Yeah that guy who texted in the probability question is wrong; what he's actually provided is the odds of winning 9 out of 9 tosses.

excellant news, i thought vaugnie was brilliant in the 1 day match recently, hes very knowledgable and hes got a wicked sense of humour,he had a good laugh about sidebottoms batting.."go on sid give it some stick" .shame about no coverage on the champions trophy, still i guess the beeb are a bit hard up(joke joke).Ive got a gut feeling we might just win this particular trophy, lets hope so.

TMS adds solemnity and a sort of completion to the on field proceedings. Former cricketers, cricket pundits, historians, statisticians and lovers of the Gentleman's Game form an exciting mosaic in the Commentary Sanctuary. TMS Commentary Team has become part and parcel of Test cricket. Best wishes to Michael Vaughan and his colleagues in Team TMS.




Dr. Cajetan Coelho