91Èȱ¬

So the Ashes battle resumes at on Thursday, a ground which holds some pretty good memories for England in recent clashes against Australia.

Four years ago, of course, it was the scene of one of the greatest Test matches of all time when .

I was working on Five Live that Sunday morning where we were broadcasting from what is affection ally known as the "potting shed", a small temporary structure placed on top of the pavilion.

Read the rest of this entry

When the world population was 2.2 billion. It is now 6.7 billion, the land speed record was 272mph, now it's 764mph and the average house price was £515 pounds , now it is £189,000.

That information came via the Test Match Special scorer Malcolm Ashton when Australia were five wickets down on Sunday afternoon - at that point it seemed it was only a matter of time before history was made.

But I'll be honest, I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I arrived in the TMS box on Monday morning - fearing that maybe, against all the odds, it might be Australia instead who would be rewriting .

Read the rest of this entry

What is it about these Ashes Test matches?

As I left the hotel in Cardiff on Sunday morning I joked to some of my colleagues that what the series needed was England's last pair hanging on for a dramatic draw. No straightforward saving of the game I said, because who would remember that?

The last pair scenario certainly didn't look at all possible for most of the day as wickets fell with regularity, but thanks to a heroic innings from Paul Collingwood and the desperate efforts of James Anderson and Monty Panesar England somehow held on to give Cardiff the memorable debut Test match they must have dreamed off.

Read the rest of this entry

With the 2009 Ashes almost upon us we are all wondering what great moments of cricket history are going to be created over the next seven weeks.

Cricket's greatest rivalry always seems to bring about something special - and if you'd like to relive some of those magical moments well now you can with the launch of the "Test Match Special Ashes Archive."

If you log onto www.bbc.co.uk/ashesarchive you can find moments stretching back to the infamous of 1932/33. As well as great commentary the archive will also include some classic TMS moments from Arlott to Aggers as well as memories from the current team.

Read the rest of this entry

Before my own blog was launched, My entries appeared only on the Test Match Special blog. Here are some of those entries:

TMS ready for magical Ashes
Whether it was listening to Botham's exploits at the back of the classroom during the summer of 1981, celebrating Gower's glorious run-scoring feats while at scout camp in 1985, hiding my radio under the bedclothes as Gladstone Small took the winning catch in 1987, prematurely singing "Ashes Coming 91Èȱ¬" on the outfield at Edgbaston in 1997 or chewing my finger nails at The Oval in 2005, most of my best cricket memories have come during series involving cricket's greatest rivals, England and Australia.

My World Twenty20 predictions
After a highly eventful 12 days at Trent Bridge, the Oval and Lord's the ICC World Twenty20 is reaching its climax over the next few days with the semi-finals and finals in both the men's and women's competition.

The Ashes Years - part 2
Five Live's "The Ashes Years" series continues on Tuesday from 2100 BST, with the emphasis moving from 1981 to England's victories in 1985 and Down Under in 1986/87.

Read the rest of this entry