Jonathan Agnew
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| Jonathan Agnew | ||||
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 England |
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| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batting style | Right-handed batsman (RHB) | |||
| Bowling style | Right arm fast bowler | |||
| Career statistics | ||||
| Tests | ODIs | |||
| Matches | 3 | 3 | ||
| Runs scored | 10 | 2 | ||
| Batting average | 10 | - | ||
| 100s/50s | 0/0 | 0/0 | ||
| Top score | 5 | 2* | ||
| Overs | 92 | 21 | ||
| Wickets | 4 | 3 | ||
| Bowling average | 93.25 | 40 | ||
| 5 wickets in innings | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 wickets in match | 0 | n/a | ||
| Best bowling | 2/51 | 3/38 | ||
| Catches/stumpings | 0 | 1/0 | ||
Jonathan Philip Agnew (nicknamed Aggers) is an English cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire on April 4, 1960 and educated at Uppingham School. Agnew had a successful first-class career as a fast bowler for Leicestershire, taking 666 wickets at an average of 29.25 and winning three Test caps for England.
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[edit] Playing career
Capable of bowling quickly in suitable conditions, Agnew made his first-class debut for Leicestershire in 1978 after impressing in local club cricket. He took 101 wickets in the 1987 season for his county. His best first-class bowling figures were 9 for 70 and he took six ten-wickets hauls in 218 matches.
He was selected as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1988 as reward for a fine season for Leicestershire, although by this stage his England career had ended after disappointing in the three Test matches and three One Day Internationals he'd played in the mid 1980s. His last Test was only 12 months after his first and his last one-day international was only one month after his first. He can perhaps be considered somewhat unlucky to make his debut during the summer of 1984 where the England cricket team was at one of its lowest ebbs - having just been "blackwashed" 5-0 by the West Indies.
With his height and pace, he had the attributes of a fine fast bowler, but his book 8 days a week (1988) was testament to the huge workload faced by county fast bowlers during the 1980s. It's almost certainly the workload placed on him by county cricket that limited his international appearances and ended his career very early - he retired at the age of 30.
[edit] Broadcasting career
Agnew began to gain experience as a journalist while still playing cricket, taking off season employment with BBC Radio Leicester as a sports producer. After retiring at a relatively young age at the end of the 1990 season, he had a stint as cricket correspondent of Today, a short-lived national newspaper, before being appointed the BBC's cricket correspondent in 1991, though in 1992 he answered an emergency call to an injury-strapped Leicestershire and played in the Natwest Trophy semi-final, taking a creditable 1-31 off 12 overs.
As a commentator Agnew is regarded as a cheerful and easy-going character (although even he became testy when asked to broadcast from an underground carpark [2]). Agnew rose to fame as a commentator on BBC on Test Match Special (where he is known as "Aggers"). He jointed TMS in 1990 and quickly became a respected figure in the field of cricket commentary, despite a very short international career. Agnew was initially a junior member of the TMS team, learning at close quarters from legends such as Brian Johnston, Henry Blofeld and Bill Frindall. However, following Johnston's death in 1994, Agnew became the BBC's Cricket Correspondent and, in effect, the voice of English cricket. As the lead-commentator on TMS, Agnew has augmented the programme's reputation for warmth, humanity and, above all, informality that belies the professionalism of all involved. In 2006, Agnew began to develop a strong broadcasting relationship with Geoffrey Boycott. Their contrasting styles, jocular (though verging on confrontational) interplay and apparent respect for one another's abilities as a broadcaster led to some, most notably Wisden to describe the pair as the "Lennon and McCartney of cricket broadcasting" For example, see this BBC Sport report from 2007.
Agnew was also lent his commentary prowess to several computer games, including the International Cricket Captain and Brian Lara Cricket series.
[edit] The Legover incident
One commentary that he performed with Brian Johnston for an England vs West Indies Test Match in August 1991 was voted on the BBC Radio 5 Live to be the "greatest piece of sporting commentary ever" [3]. He was commentating on Ian Botham reeling after receiving a ball and trying, but failing, to step over the stumps. Botham was consequently given out hit wicket. Agnew's comment on this action was: "He just couldn't quite get his leg over." This was followed by laughter by both Johnston and Agnew as they realised what Agnew had just said, with Johnston imploring "Aggers, for goodness' sake, do stop it" between convulsions of mirth (listen to mp3). In England, "getting one's leg over" is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse, something Botham had quite a reputation for [4].
Another on-air giggling fit was provoked by Eleanor Oldroyd's comment "One good bit of news for England is that Ian Botham's groin is back to full strength" [5]
[edit] Teams
[edit] International
[edit] Non-International First class
- Leicestershire
- Marylebone Cricket Club
- DB Close's XI
- England XI
- England B
[edit] Second XI Championship
- Surrey Second XI (1977)
- Leicestershire Second XI (1978-1986)
[edit] Miscellaneous Other
- Marylebone Cricket Club Schools (1978)
- National Cricket Association Young Cricketers (1978)
- England Young Cricketers (1978/79)
- Lord's Taverners (1983)
- Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk's XI (1984-1989)
- England XI (1984/85)
- Sir JP Getty's XI (1992)
[edit] Career bests
[edit] Tests
Test debut: vs West Indies, The Oval, 1984
Last Test: vs Australia, Manchester, 1985
- Agnew's best Test batting score of 5 was made against West Indies, The Oval, 1984
- His best Test bowling figures of 2 for 51 came against West Indies, The Oval, 1984
[edit] One Day International
ODI debut: vs India, Nagpur, 1984-1985
Last ODI: vs Australia, Melbourne, 1984-85
- Agnew's best ODI batting score of 2 not out was made against Australia, Melbourne, 1984-1985
- His best ODI bowling figures of 3 for 38 came against India, Nagpur, 1984-85
[edit] First-class
- Agnew's best first-class batting score was 90, Yorkshire v Leicestershire, Scarborough, 1987 [6]
- His best first-class bowling figures were 9 for 70, Leicestershire v Kent, Leicester, 1985 [7]
[edit] List A Limited Overs
- Agnew's best List A batting score was 26, Leicestershire v Australians, Leicester, 1981 [8]
- His best List A bowling figures were 5 for 30, Gloucestershire v Leicestershire, Bristol, 1987 [9]
[edit] External links
- Test Match Special official site
- Cricinfo player profile of Jonathan Agnew
- HowSTAT! statistical profile on Jonathan Agnew
- Jonathan Agnew at Internet Movie Database
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Agnew, Jonathan Philip |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Aggers |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Cricketer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Macclesfield, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
