Talk:Test Match Special

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		The Barnstar of Good Humor
		For a great community effort resulting in an article which is not only informative but fun to read too Modest Genius talk 21:49, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Excellent, an article that is as irreverent as the show, because taking cricket too seriously is, well, not cricket. Well done --Drgs100 19:16, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. I would hand someone a barnstar for it, but this appears to have been a community effort, so I'm awarding it to everyone who's worked on it. Modest Genius ^talk 21:49, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Congratulations! Linked to by its subject 2 The Early Commentators 3 The Bowler's Holding 4 Commentators et al. 5 Article on TMS in 2007 Wisden

[edit] Congratulations! Linked to by its subject

BBC Cricket TMS links to the article. Great achievement when the subject of an article links to the Wikipedia article about it! PeterGrecian 08:46, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Early Commentators

At present Wikipedia doesn't have articles for Howard Marshall, who pioneeered Test Match commentary on BBC Radio in the 1930s, or on Rex Alston and Robert Hudson, two of the leading lights in the early days of TMS in the late 1950s and 1960s. I've been doing some research on the Web, and hope to put up articles on all three shortly. (To add to the one that I recently wrote for Arthur Wrigley.) I haven't been able to determine the date or place of birth for any of them, so if anyone knows I'd be delighted to hear from you. Also, I believe that Robert Hudson is still alive, but does anyone know to the contrary? JH 20:23, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Now done for all three - see links in TMS article. JH 22:33, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Bowler's Holding

Is there any evidence that "The bowler's Holding the batsman's Willey" ever happened? It's a well known story and it certainly could have happened, but did it? If so, who said it on air, on what date? Failing that, when was the first time it appeared in print? E.g. who was the first commentator to put it in one of their memoirs?

I think this is one of the stories about TMS that may well not be true. In any case I think the evidence should be cited here. My strong suspicion is that somebody made it up wishing they had said it, probably Johnners. The story seems to have got stronger since the "LegOver" incident, since that showed that the most outrageous things could happen on TMS. But it's notable that the exact date (and time) of that is easily located, while this one is mysterious.

Note that the same story is told on the Holding and the Willey pages. Again without evidence. I guess I will put a similar notice there.

I'd be tempted to put at least "citation needed", or even say that it's a well known story which has not been tracked down.

A 2003 article has Blowers saying it was in 1976 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/test_match_special/2664751.stm. That is not really contemporary.

--85.210.32.94 21:10, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

It could only have been in 1976 or 1980, since those were the only England v West Indies series in England where both cricketers were playing. I too am suspicious about the story's authenticity. JH 21:32, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

I've now found the following in CMJ's Ball by Ball, on page 160. Discussing readers' letters, he says: Brian Johnston was taken to task by a schoolmistress, feigning indignation, for saying... during a West Indies Test commentary: "The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey." This, in fact, was one of the few faux pas which Brian has not committed. JH 09:21, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks JH, that was rapid and brilliant. --85.210.32.94 10:16, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I was lucky enough to have the right book to hand, and that "humour" was an entry in its index. Which brings me to the new Johnners stories that have been added in the last day or so. Other Johhners' classics include, "there's Tony Grieg standing at second slip -- legs wide apart, bending over, waiting for a tickle;" I've read that Johnners said that about Neil Harvey, back in the days when he was in the TV commentary box. It's not impossible that he decided to reuse the remark, of course. JH 21:34, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

I think it's more likely that the story was added from memory and the player (whose identity isn't really integral) was guessed at - that's what I tend to do when telling stories like this. If you can remember where you read it then I'd change it and add a source. --Cherry blossom tree 23:22, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Commentators et al.

I've created a category for all the relevent TMS commentators, summarizers, scorers etc, so any new members to the list on the main page can also be linked to the category. Mdcollins1984 15:39, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article on TMS in 2007 Wisden

The 2007 Wisden, which has just come out. marks the 50th anniversary of TMS by an article about it. Amongstt other interesting stuff, there is what is supposed to be a complete list of everyone who has been a commentator or summariser. When time permits, I'll use the list to update the lists here (unless someone beats me to it). JH (talk page) 16:51, 28 March 2007 (UTC)