Jonathan Agnew steps down as BBC cricket correspondent. A fascination with people keeps him going
With the completion of England’s Test series in Pakistan Jonathan Agnew has stepped down as the BBC’s cricket correspondent. He will continue to be on Test Match Special when it covers Test matches. Whether he will cover any limited over games in future is not clear
Ive been a listener to TMS since the 1960s (introduced by my late father, (A Scottish Communist cricket fan) and while Agnew was not around then he has certainly become the voice of cricket.
Perhaps in his criticism of franchise cricket there is a small echo of the ‘in my day’ which has been a feature of some cricket commentary, but in general he has recognised and moved with the times. I think that’s down to Agnew’s fascination with people and why they do what they do, something he surely shared with the late Brian Johnston.
On a personal note he has been a promoter of beards and cricket and the Beard Liberation Front which I organise. Its time to remind Aggers than when people step down from a role, if they are male, it is customary to grow a beard.
TMS means the world to me. I feel like the bridge between a bygone age of Brian Johnston and Fred Trueman, to a new era involving the likes of Steven Finn and Alex Hartley.
Looking back, it was just a bunch of middle-aged white blokes, or even a bunch of late-aged white blokes. Now the modern TMS team is nothing like that. I’m very proud of what we have achieved.
TMS podcast interview with Aggers including his memories of interviewing Nelson Mandela
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