Jonathan Agnew, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - review
The soothing voice of Jonathan Agnew describing a bouncer, a googly or reviewing a days play in test match cricket is a sporting institution in this country.
So no wonder audiences are packing theatres up and down the country to spend a couple of hours with cricket's best loved broadcaster.
Agnew, or Aggers to his friends, colleagues and fans has embarked on a UK tour and brought the show to Theatre Severn on Sunday evening.
An almost packed out crowd sat for two hours to hear tales of playing, commentating and touring from a man who spoke with as much enthusiasm to a room full of fanatics as he does describing an England wicket.
As with all sports talk,s Agnew meandered from his early days of being a public schoolboy in Lincolnshire, to playing for Leicestershire and a short spell with England.
But broadcasting is where he is known the most, being the voice of Test Match Special alongside Sir Geoffrey Boycott and co.
His funny stories are from the commentary box rather than the dressing room, and many of them involve pranks and tricks on fellow colleagues.
He almost got sacked for a mistake on radio, but throughout his talk he said how lucky he had been to be in the right place at the right time.
He is now the BBC's Mr Cricket, has commentated on Princess Diana's funeral, Royal Weddings and the Olympics.
When people think of popular broadcasters in sport you think of Linekar, Motson, and more these days Mark Chapman.
But you will struggle to find someone who doesn't like Agnew.
His voice is made for cricket. In all senses of it test match special should be boring to the normal person, the person who doesn't like cricket. But Aggers and his team make sure it isn't.
His stories on pranks brought the house down, including the famous leg over comment with Brian 'Johnners' Johnson.
His side kick Tino, his pet dog was another star of the show wondering around the stage.
He thanked the general public for the support they showed to his wife Emma during her recent battle with cancer, before playing a clip of a letter sent into TMS.
It was from the son of a man who had dementia and died earlier this year.
If you want to listen to it go onto YouTube because it will show you how important TMS is to some people, and how important Aggers is to TMS.
