26 Aug 2026 · 46 min
Michael Atherton, Jonathan Agnew, Phil Tufnell, and other cricket veterans recall the greatest moments at Lord's. They discuss Bob Massie's 16-wicket debut, the 2019 World Cup final super-over, and Verity's 14-wicket day, weaving together personal memories with the ground's unique atmosphere.
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You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.
We're going to have a look at our Lord's memories. First Test match was played here in 1884, and since then, of course, there have been many stunning highlights.
Archer bowls it, it's clipped away into the leg side. They're going to come back for the second. The throw is picked up, they throw to the wicketkeeper's end. He's run out, is he? I think he's run out. England think he's run out. Oh, hang on. Now this is interesting. Bester's walked out of his crease. Thinking it's the end of the over, Carey has flung the stumps down from long range. Berstow stalks off. He's had a word there with the Australians going past. They could have withdrawn the appeal.
Bashir bowls. Siraj gets one that spins.
Oh, he's bowled him!
He's played on and Bashir is leaping around. He's engulfed by his teammates. Siraj cannot believe it.
Shrubsole in now.
Balls full!
Balls on! 6 wickets for Amy Shrubsole, England's hero. England win the World Cup in In front of a packed house at Lord's, who go nuts in the crowd. In goes Stokes. Listen to the crowd. He bowls outside the off stump, caught in the gully. As Stokes, with 2 balls left in this over, is on his way. He's there, he bowls to McCullum. Oh, bowled him! He's bowled him first ball, and he's given him.
That's all it took. They all had to come back. Just 3 deliveries and Phil Tufnel takes 5 wickets again.
Agnew, 95 for 7 now. Lillie's gone for 12, so some excellent bowling at the death by Leicestershire.
Well, that's an extraordinary stroke. It was just as he played it, I had the feeling that he hadn't quite middled it.
In fact, he did, and he's hit it for 6 and gone past the 200 mark to become only the 9th cricketer in the history of the game to make a double century at Lord's.
Well, an eclectic mix of memories there. A fiver for Tuffers. Yes, a One Day Cup win for, for Agus playing for Leicestershire, 1985.
1985, beating Gooch.
Yeah, well, a memorable day for you. And what we've done is we've got Tuffers together, and Michael is here as well, and Jonathan, just to look back actually some of the, the memories at Lord's.
But Michael, you've got a quiz for us. Um, Phil Tufnel at Lord's. Yeah, how many balls Do you think Philip Tufnell has bowled here at the home of cricket?
Must have bowled a few.
Well, in county cricket as well.
Yes, all his Test matches and county cricket. How many balls has Philip Tufnell bowled?
Get my calculator out. How many years did he play, Tufnell?
18.
I'll give you a clue. He played 96 matches.
Oh, there you go.
Oh, okay. 96.
There we go.
It's not easy doing arithmetic on the air. No, it's not.
Okay, so a few thousand.
17,000.
Very not bad, not bad, Agus. He bowled 23,039 balls here at Lord's. He got 1,101 maidens, 347 wickets, which is very good. 96 matches, 807 runs scored.
He had a very good batting lineup at that time. I wasn't required quite. That's a lot of balls, Phil. It's a lot of balls.
How many did you lose?
I loved it. No, no, loved every minute of it playing here. Let's be honest, you know, as a young kid walking into Lord's, that I hadn't really wanted to be a professional cricketer or anything, sort of fell into it a little bit. But that walk in, I can remember with me, me Tesco's bags over me back with me boots in, you know, to do—
Had your boots in?
Yeah, that was for the MCC YCs, and we were all meeting up in the dressing room, the home dressing room. And I've turned up and I just went, wow, this is, this is some place.
Did you have a kit bag?
Not really, not in those days. There was all the other fellas in blazers with sort of Eska on them and everything, and I managed to sort of get in and turn up and, uh, got told off by, uh, Don Wilson.
Yes.
Don Wilson, uh, was— and what a touch to have that as the, um, as your main mentor at the MCC YCs in England. Left-arm spin bowler.
A great man too.
Yeah, he was a great lad. And, uh, you know, I can just remember—
What year was your—
Well, you know, ask me about the years, Mike. That must have been '84 or '85 or something.
That's the first time you came here?
Yeah, first time I came through those gates.
Yeah, I played with Derek Pringle here when I was 16. We're playing for sort of England Schools knockout type thing. You progressed, you got to play the Armed Forces or something like that. It was back in the day when all those sorts of games were played here. But that was, yeah, that was my first, um, I was 16 when I first played here. And you'd never, never forget the first time.
No.
You'd never forget any time really. Um, just the smell of the place when you walk in the pavilion and, you know, all the stewards and the tea trolley trundling up the corridor. All those sorts of, the wooden, wooden trolley.
Yeah, yeah.
My first— I said it the other day, Mike Gatting giving me a Duncan Fernley bat. I was young cricketer or top scorer in, I think it was 1988, and I think Daily Telegraph had sponsored it. And, uh, Gat gave me— down in the tavern stand in the boxes. And the Middlesex— you might have been playing. Middlesex were playing and I got invited down and my school got a kit bag with £1,000 worth of kitten to take back to Sheffield. Silverdale Comp were happy with that. Yeah, so that was, uh, that was my first, uh, first arrival here at Lord's.
Yeah.
I think my first game of cricket I've ever seen was here as well. My dad took me here, Middlesex. I can't quite remember who it was. And I can remember Don Bennett, who was my coach.
Very patient man, Don.
20 years. I can remember watching him bowl and I could only— I must have only been about 8 or something. I don't know.
Yeah.
So that was my first sort of game of cricket I watched was at Lord's. But it was a big thing, wasn't it? Son, we're going to Lord's.
Yes.
What?
Gillette Cup final.
Oh, yes.
Won my first game here.
Yeah.
In the old grandstand.
What the first game you came to watch?
Yeah, 11 years old. Yeah. And watched Lancashire-Kent playing here in the Gillette Cup final. And Peter Lever bowling from this end. I said to my dad, that's who I want to be on with, Peter Lever.
Was Bumble playing?
Bumble was playing. Jack Bond was captain. Yeah. And so, I mean, it works out in a silly way. Yeah, Bumble, Barry Wood. I could go through that team. Harry Pilling, Clive Lloyd, Fruke Engineer, all the old— Ken Shuttleworth, Lever, Lee. You go through, you go through that team.
Were you sat in the stands or just—
because I was in the grandstand.
Yeah, my memories of Lord's are actually on the telly. You know, I used to absolutely adore the finals.
Oh yeah.
The NatWest final.
It was pitch black.
Oh, I'd just sit by it all day. I'd get the scorebook out and I'd score the game.
Yeah. Which did you like?
Honestly, I did. Yeah, I used to always do that. And I used to always kind of want to be the fans by the boundary rope that ran on.
Yeah.
Oh, why would you be— she's thinking, why would you sit in the stands where you can sit on the grass?
Get ready to run on.
They did run on too. They ran on at the World Cup final, didn't they? Of course, chaos. Yeah, with the Australia-West Indies.
Yes, they did, in 1975. So those are your sort of first memories of, of coming here. We've asked you to select your sort of favorite kind of playing, commentating, uh, memories of being here. I don't know if you can still remember the ones you gave at sort of half past 1, uh, today, but I've got a list fortunately for you. But Jonathan, let— well, let's start. Leicestershire '85, winning the Benson Hedges Cup.
Um, we never won anything. And what was lovely about that, um, was yes, we were playing Essex, uh, and so they were a good side and they were used to winning things. And we, we didn't do as well as we should actually. We had a really very good side. Um, but to come and play— but what I loved about the finals in those days, and okay, that was the one that we played, but also the semi-finals, which were big days as well, you saw all the members who loyally followed you through at Grace Road. You know, year after year after year with nothing. And suddenly there they are sitting over in the grandstand or whatever. It's all those familiar faces and it's a great day, those finals here. And it's such a shame that they've lost that.
Yeah.
Because they really were— and it was a county cricketer's day out and it was, it was absolutely fantastic. And a couple of memories of that game, we were in the, uh, visiting side, uh, That's where we were, and it was all getting a bit tense. And I remember Paddy Clift— Peter Woolley played really well— Paddy Clift waiting to go in, and a great section of the ceiling of the dressing room just fell down straight on his head as he was watching, waiting to go out the back. I don't know why it fell down. I was sharing a house with Gordon Parsons, the old fast bowler Gordon, and he bowled beautifully. He bowled something like 11 overs for 30 or something. He bowled beautifully. And in those days, of course, you know, you rushed back in time for the highlight. There was no champagne, there wasn't— there was no celebration. We won the game, drove home, there was just nothing. And so he said, come on, let's get back, watch the highlights. Obviously he wanted to watch himself. So he got back to our flat, got it on just in time, watched the highlights. And because he'd taken 0 for 30, he actually— you did not see him in the whole program. You didn't see him bowl a ball, you didn't see him field the ball, he didn't bat. Gordon Parsons did not feature at all.
You, but you got a wicket, so you must have featured.
I tell you who I got out. I got out, um, uh, oh God, what's his name? Um, he was the crazy fellow from Essex, Alan Lilly. Yeah, great fellow, Lil. Yeah. Oh, it was— but it was, it was the county cricketers and the county cricket supporters day out, and it was absolutely brilliant.
I, I, I think in the '90s when I first started in, uh, county cricket, the only thing I wanted to do was play in a Lord's Final.
Did you play in a Lord's Final, Mike? I can't remember.
Yeah, we, uh, I, I think we lost to Gloucester And we beat Somerset here in 2002. Matthew Elliott got 100, smashed caddy all over the place. I actually took a very good catch in that.
You did?
I did. I did. I caught Triscotic flying one-handed at cover. I know you're all looking at me like I'm lying. I did. Look at you on YouTube.
We're a bit surprised.
Yeah.
Oh, it stuck.
Well, Jack, who put this, put that compilation together you heard at the start, he didn't manage to find that catch, Michael. I'm not sure he did. Did you play in Lord's final time? You'd have played it all, Charlie.
No, no, no, no, no. We had, um, well, Philippe and John Embry sort of thing. I was always sort of lurking around.
Uh, were they considered better one-day bowlers then?
Yes, yes, that's right.
When Ramps played as a 17-year-old.
That's right, against Worcester here.
Were you in the squad?
I was in the squad. I was 12. Yeah, but didn't get in. No, I didn't get in. It started at half 10 or something and the breeze nipped it around all over the place, so it was sort of like, let's go and have a look at the wicket. Well, we got Embers, it's 10:30, it's going to do all sorts. Sorry, You're, you know, you're, uh, you're twelfers. But, uh, you know, I can remember, I can remember a couple. Yeah, we, well, we had a good one-day side. Yeah, I can remember being on the balcony, you know, being part of 2 or 3.
I think we're actually fielding 12th man.
I think they might have got a youngster in. Well, I was a youngster then. Yeah, I think I was. I think I might have run a drink out or something, or a pair of gloves.
You've all given us, uh, your 5 Top memories, and that was one of yours, Jonathan, the Leicestershire winning the 1985, uh, Benson Hedges Cup. But also some other moments from you as well. So you, you went for Stokes Bowling Eights New Zealand in 2015, getting McCullum and Williamson out. Actually, we heard that. Yeah, uh, in the compilation at the start.
I've got it because of the crowd, really. I mean, this, this place is normally quite quiet and respectful, you know. The World Cup final was different. This is a Test match. And that spell from Stokes is bowling from this end was electric, and he bowled brilliantly, swung the ball, bowled fast. And did you get McCullum second? Second, he got 2 wickets.
First ball he got it.
First ball, and the whole place just looked—
whoosh! There was a massive whoosh.
Yeah, so just, it was just one of those moments that you remember.
Great shout.
Yeah, just, just, just really for the crowd and the way that Stokes bowled that day.
He got 100 in the game as well. He did. Fastest 100.
Very fast one. Yes, he did. Yeah, 100 balls more or less, I think.
Yeah.
That's celebrated actually downstairs in the media center, the big montage of photographs down there, and that's one of them. Uh, Michael, you went for Archer against Smith in the 2019 Ashes.
Well, again, it was the atmosphere and everything around Jofra and, uh, you know, his arrival into the, the England team. And obviously bowling to, at the time, someone that, you know, was the best. And the way that he ran him from the pavilion end, and it was just brutal. And he just made Steve Smith, and he is a great, great player. He made him look very average for a short period of time. Obviously, the blow and then Marnus coming out, and there was obviously him as well. Yeah, peppered Marnus Labuschagne. Again, it's the atmosphere of this place. You know, when something— well, say Lords, they're a very knowledgeable crowd, and they can always kind of feel when something special is happening. And it's same with Ben's. Spell against New Zealand back in the day. But you know, that occasion, the Ashes, and Joffre Archer charging in— I don't think there's many better spectacles in cricket when a quick bowler is charging into a real quality batter and there's a bit of chin music.
I can remember I was commentating on that and everyone was watching it. I can remember turning around and there was like about 30 people in the back of the box. No one said anything, they were just going Just eyeballs wide, you know. Amazing. Slow pitch as well. And then old Maris came out, knocked him over as well. Yes, got him.
It's gone.
It's tough as one of your memories. It says here toughest is fifer against Sri Lanka.
Well, thanks very much.
That was one of yours.
Well, I'm on the honours board. I know Michael's up there about 7 or 8 times, but, uh, yeah, I mean, you come to Lord's, don't you, and you want to get on the honours board, and I managed to achieve it. A very, very good Sri Lankan side.
Was it a flat wicket, Phil?
It was extremely flat and managed to wiggle out 5 Sri Lankans.
Who did you get out?
I think Hattira Singha, I think Mahanama, Gurasinha, might have been, I don't know, Aravinda.
Might have been Aravinda, but well, you know, you're going to wardener, but there you go.
I'm not quite sure who it was, but, um, you know, but to get 5 for and then get it at Lord's and get on that, you know, it was an achievement, you know. I was absolutely delighted with myself. Everyone can remember as a kid growing up, you know, and you hear all you lot talking on the radio about honours boards and everything. I wanted to do it and did it.
Did they do— so what year was that?
God knows.
No, it's mid-'90s.
Yeah, mid-'90s.
David Lawrence played and Jack Russell.
Let's bring Zoltz in. Yeah, come on, Zoltz.
Mixing up a few games. I think the Lawrence-Russell played in '88. Toughest one was 1991. The 5, uh, the 5, uh, Bathurst dismissed a tourist singer, Asanka Gurasina. Roshan Mahanamal, Hashan Tilakaratne, wicketkeeper, dogged player, and number 11, Donan Urasiri.
Oh, so you didn't get Aravinda out there.
I can remember who gave me my fiver, and it was the number 11. It was John Hampshire. John Hampshire, an LBW. Didn't get him used to get too many LBWs. I thought, oh, I'm not going to get my fiver.
Was it missing?
Might have been.
Did they do the tape on the board back in the day when you came back in the dressing room?
No, because that was to win the game. That was to actually then win the game. So I got the 5, won the game, and we all— and I've got a wonderful picture actually, um, very emotional photo actually, say, of Sid Lawrence, Hugh Morris. Yeah, lovely picture. And myself, Daffy, Chris Lewis, all that England side on that, uh, on that sort of, uh, like a really good selfie.
You know, the people are quite obsessed with the honours board, right? But they're only a recent thing. They weren't there when I played. No, were they? Yeah, the honors board didn't exist.
No.
So when did the honors board—
I don't know, but it's certainly after, after I finished anyway. Yeah, there weren't any honors boards. It's a new, new concept. They're everywhere now, aren't they? Most grounds have an honors board.
Well, didn't you— must have felt chuffed when you got your first time here, Mike. Yeah, on the honors board.
Yep, that's, uh, I mean, it was against Sri Lanka. I think I wanted to join yourself. Oh yeah, I mean, I think you you play for England, that's a tick, isn't it? You've got your England cap, and the next thing you want is 100. I got 100 at Old Trafford. And then your next thing is like, whoa, I want 100 at Lord's. Got 100 at Lord's, and kind of tick these things off. But yeah, the honours board was huge from when I was growing up.
Motivator.
Yeah, I remember playing against Middlesex here.
I had to find out.
In the '90s, and we played on a pitch right there. It was in line with the away dressing room.
That's right, I got you out, Mike.
Did you?
Yeah, bulger. I think you had about 120.
Did you get me out?
I did get you out. Bold Mike turned forward offensive. You weren't like that.
Was that first innings or second innings? I can't remember, but I think I got 100.
Yeah, you did get 100.
Yeah.
Now, two of you went for the Johnny Bairstow incident.
Oh yes, that was great.
That's just with me and Phil. Well, both of you went.
Yeah, both of you.
Yeah.
Well, why did you go for that? Why, why, why is that resonating with you as a sort of the Lord's moment?
I just thought it kicked off.
Yeah, everything around it was, it was dramatic, it was controversial. Um, the long room, you know, the reaction from the members, the reaction from the England team, the reaction when they came back out. Stuart Broad, I think he was having a pop at one of the Aussie players when they were coming out to bat. I mean, it just—
And then Stokes.
And I think we all said this place has, has a history of great atmosphere at Keema. I'd never known this place.
No, no, it's angry.
So angry.
It's a Sunday, wasn't it? Yeah, it's a bit of a different feel to a Sunday here. Yeah, Stuart said something like, that'll haunt you forever, or something like that to Alex Carey. Yeah, as he, as he come up, he said that and you could hear it down the— it wasn't quite though.
Yeah, it was like a bear pit. And then Stokesy got that 155, didn't he? Yeah, yeah, absolutely teed off. And look, and I can remember Steve Smith dropped one down there and like that, all the crowd were on him.
He just knew it. He knew I was commentating. He just knew if it's given out, it was going You just knew it was going to kick off.
Yeah.
And, uh, it was, it was interesting doing that because, you say, I was commentating with Glenn McGrath. There was no doubt in my mind as a commentator that was end of the over. Through it goes, boom. And actually what they don't show in many of the clips is the umpire actually taking the sweater out, right? And he's handing it to the bowler.
Correct.
All he didn't do was call over. He had taken a sweater out and was doing that. Jonny Bairstow taps his foot in his ground. Deliberately, boom, walks out. And of course, we know what happened. So the thing I felt about that, and one day I'll have to ask Pat Cummins enough about it, but I wonder if Pat Cummins slightly regrets that opportunity that he might have had because all the stuff about Australia cheating, bad sports, and the whole place was shouting about, you know, Aussies always cheating. They were winning that game. They were winning that game. That could have been the moment where he really made a decision that could have killed all that stuff forever. And I just wonder, when the third umpire was reviewing it, if he just said to Jonny Bairstow, I won't do it this time, Jonny, but you do that again, you're out. Whether— if that— what the image of Australian cricket might have been.
I've heard him speak about it. I, I don't think he'll ever—
No, he won't. I interviewed him afterwards. He was steaming down there at the response.
Johnny was dozy. And in the rules of the law, yeah, it was out.
Well, it was. If you take it to the nth degree, it was out.
Absolutely. It did kick off. And then that— then you could see Stokesy was absolutely furious.
You were angry, Phil.
Well, we was all angry. I was livid. But, um, I can remember, you know, then Stokesy just smashing sixes when it was going.
Stark was bowling quick.
Yeah.
And he kept on just almost sweeping him into the, the tavern stand.
And the cheers, it was brilliant.
Yes, it was.
I think Australia, just talking to Australians, we were there earlier in the week. I think that they're utterly bemused by the English reaction. They just cannot understand it. It was like, well, why? You know, the bloke's out of his crease. Why wouldn't you sort of roll the ball at the stumps and get rid of him?
It's our old friend, the spirit of cricket again. And people's perceptions of it, that line, are just in different places.
Yeah, they are completely different. I don't think Pak, I mean, he might when he's 70. I don't know. But I don't think he does now. But I think you're right in the sense that it turned the game, didn't it? almost opened the way for England. They weren't quite able to go through the door actually, because you look at it, I think England needed 70 with 4 wickets left, which ultimately wasn't a bad position to be in. And then Stokes was out and then they rather crumbled, didn't they?
I mean, I don't think Stokes would have played the way he did without that incident.
No, no, I think it really gave us a spark.
Yeah, it was. Yeah, and Broad played well, you know, he came out, didn't he? Yeah, hung around nicely. He was the usual Stuart. He was kind of being a pest.
Well, remember he kept asking to get permission to leave his ground, didn't he? When he was really going over the top with it. But the atmosphere down there by the pavilion at the end, yeah, we get sent down to do the end. I'd never known anything like it.
I think a couple of members got sort of barred.
Oh, they were, they were suspended, weren't they? I mean, yeah, but they manhandled the Australians, which is totally out of order.
Oh, absolutely.
And the members there at Lord's are in a very fortunate position. I mean, there aren't many sporting places like this, venues like this, where you're so close to the players. It's a privilege. If they want the, you know, it's sanitized, uh, and no one allowed in there when the players come through, well, that's the, that's the way to guarantee it, isn't it? So yeah, that was unfortunate.
John, you went for one a long way back now, um, Bob Massie's 16 wickets.
Yes, well, that was the first game of cricket.
1972.
Yeah, that was— I remember watching it entirely on television. I was 12, black and white telly at home. And it's one of those that sounds a bit of a sad childhood, but I'd sit and watch the Test match, curtains drawn. Mum would come in at lunchtime, you know, be served lunch at lunchtime and have a cup of tea at tea time, and you'd live the Test match. But the point was, you then went out afterwards, and I had a brother who's 2 years younger than me, and you'd go out and copper your heroes in the garden. You'd watch them on the telly, which of course, you know, the fortunate ones can do now, but many can't. But that was absolutely mind-boggling to see how Bob Massey swung that ball. Some incredible deliveries. I mean, cleaning up batsmen from round the wicket with massive inswingers. And it was absolutely incredible. And Dennis Lillee was tearing it as well. You know, there was lots about it. And people who we've got to know very well playing— Rod Marsh, Ian Chappell, Keith Stackpole— people that, you know, as England's— as English people, we're not supposed to like. But actually, as we do this job, you get to know what great people they are.
And—
but the main thing was just watching and being spellbound by how Bob Massey bowled that day. And again, it's— I do tell this story sometimes, but years later I'm working with Bob at the WACA on a Test match for ABC Radio. And he just said, you know, he's a bit of a hero. I didn't, you know, because those sort of memories stay with you, don't they? And he said, mate, he said, I'm having a barbie tonight. You want to come along? And I said, well, yes, I'd love to, Bob. So I got invited to his house, and on the way there in the taxi, I thought, "Oh my! I wonder. You know, I wonder what he's got." Sure enough, I got in the house, and there in the trophy cabinet were the two balls from the game. And he saw me just gazing at them. He said, "Mate," he said. I said, "I watched Bob. That game meant so much." He said, "Mate," he said, "Do you want to hold them?" And I said, "Yes, Bob, I'd love to." So I held them. I held Bob's balls in my hand and it was like sort of, you know, turning the clock back to the age of 12 and watching that incredible spell of bowling.
Were they heavy?
Well, they were, they were, they were just as you expect, but they were, they were mounted, I think, from memory, and quite shiny. But, uh, yeah, one of those things, you know, it makes you turn the clock back. And yeah, memories, memories.
Remind us a bit more about that game.
Uh, well, Massey took 8 in both innings. It was his debut, finished with match figures of 16 for 137, uh, in a game that Australia won, part of a drawn 2-all series. The, uh, at that point the 3rd best figures in Test history, uh, now the 4th best. Narendra Hawane also on debut, 16 for 136 for India against West Indies. Massey only played 5 more Tests and, uh, took 15—
Never swung the ball again.
15 more wickets in his career.
Yeah, it was extraordinary. And, and I've talked to Ray Lingworth about it, who was the England captain, a typical English He said, well, whenever we batted, the sun went behind the cloud. Whenever we bowled, the clouds went away. So he's suggesting, you know, that Bob swung them around under, under cloud cover. There was talk about, you know, lip salve and that sort of stuff, but, uh, it was just one of those, those extraordinary things.
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Michael, you went for a game, um, as we move on, you went for a game, uh, in the early part of the 21st century, uh, where Cork and Gough won a game here.
They bowled beautifully as well.
Yeah, against West Indies.
Yes, yes, that's it. I, I actually, um, I got brought into the team. I think Nasser broke his finger at Edgbaston and went 1-0 down in the series. Came here, Stu was captain. Um, if my memory is correct, I think the West Indies got about 280-odd in the first innings, and then we were, we were bowled out quickly. I think they had a lead of 134. And then Caddick, Gough, and Cork came out and bowled them out for 54. I think we needed 190 to win. And then the lights were on, it was gloomy. Now we carried on in those days, we actually played, and Curtly and Courtney were running in.
Yeah.
Um, and you know, we just managed to get— I think me and Ath put on a few, but I took forever. And then at the end, Corky, I think Corky got 30-odd not out.
He did.
Gough, he had to wheel himself out to get a few at the end as well, maybe 4 or 5. but it was on a knife edge. It was, uh, yeah, again, that was my first kind of experience of the crowd here at Lord's, you know, the atmosphere. It was jam-packed and Curtly Courtney kind of running.
I think—
Cork was brilliant.
I think Franklin Rhodes was playing for the West Indies as well, and King. I think they were running in. And yeah, Cork around that time, I mean, for a lot of his career, he, he knew how to win a game. Yeah, he knew how to win a game with the ball but with the bat as well. He'd done it many times for Derbyshire Competitive, so yeah. And he came out and he was, you know, like Stuart Broad actually, kind of in a bit of a pest. And then he hit the—I think it was through extra cover or through the COVID point region—hit the boundary to win the game. And that was us back in the series, and we ended up obviously winning the Wisdom Trophy for.
And he pointed to somebody very obviously.
Yes, yes, he did.
Never knew who it was. No, that was now. Caught. Pointed deliberately to somebody down here, and I often wondered who. I'll have to ask you next time.
I think there's a picture of it downstairs in the, in the, you know, in our tea room, and he is holding up some sort of—
perhaps he was getting confused with the NASA one. No, no one—
NASA of course did that as well. Might have been to you.
I saw him in the lift 2 days ago. I said, you're not going to talk to me about interviewing? I said, well, I might mention that gesture. He said, well, you'll get a mention then. So that's quite— I was quite flattered to be one of those 3, actually.
Was I right with those numbers? You were very close.
West Indies 267, England 134 all out, so a lead of 133. So you were one out there. West Indies all out, 54. England 191 for 8 to win by 2 wickets. On the second day of that game though—
Second day, wasn't it?
Yeah, all 4 teams batted.
All 4 innings were— at the end of West Indies' first innings at the end of the first day, they were 9 down. And the whole of England's first innings and West Indies' second innings, and England just batted 7 balls at the end of the day and they're their second innings. So, um, yeah, the majority of that chase on, on, on day 3. And, uh, yeah, it was a thrilling— I feel similar a bit to that. There was a Pakistan Test here in 1992 that had a similar ending, uh, with Pakistan beating England with Waqar and Wasim, uh, in another sort of dramatic fluctuating game.
And that was a, that was a significant victory actually for England, wasn't it? Because they were on a pretty low ebb through the '90s, end of the '90s, and it was kind of the— it was the the first step back, wasn't it?
Yeah, it was. And I'm pretty sure it was at the end of that series. I think we won 3-1. Yeah, we would have had only a 2-day game. That's right. Yeah, 2-day game at 10. I think again, Gough and Caddy. I think Caddy got 4 in an over.
Yeah, that's right.
And then we won at the Oval. I think that was— yeah, I think we drew it. I think it was Stewie's 100th Test at Old Trafford that we drew. I think there was a draw at Old Trafford and then went to the Oval and we won at the Oval. It was a 3-1 set. I think then we went to Pakistan and and won in Pakistan or Sri Lanka first, Pakistan. So I can't remember which one came first, but it was around that period. Yeah, started to play some decent cricket and gather a bit of a team.
Didn't, um, didn't sort of Courtney Walsh bowl like 18 overs or something on the spin or something? Just couldn't, just wouldn't stop.
Walsh and Ambrose. How are you going to prepare against the West Indies? Walsh and Ambrose. If you got to King and Franklin, well, there was a few shots played.
They didn't mind a bowl, those two fellas. Crikey. Another of your memories, Jonathan, it also involves, uh, uh, the West Indies. Gordon Greenwich's double hundred here.
Well, see, I didn't play in that game, but it was— I was— I played a couple of games later, um, and of course my friend David Gower was captain, uh, and I just remember we talked about it the other day when we interviewed him, um, you know, that declaration. And, and it's, it's quite interesting how how the press kind of put pressure on you, don't they, to do this and do that. It's always easier from up here, declarations. It's that classic case of— it happens a lot— the media saying, declare, it's ridiculous, batting on far too long, and all that sort of stuff. And of course, David did bat it on, they batted on, and I think he declared just before lunch. Andy can check that out. I can't remember what the actual score was that they needed, but it was well over 300.
344.
Yeah, and they smashed them off. Was it one wicket down? I mean, they absolutely romped it. That was a run out. It was, it was a run out. I mean, it was just a, you know, Gordon Greenwich was an incredible batsman, uh, and we played against him a lot, obviously, when he played for Hampshire. And if he came out limping, you knew you were in trouble because he didn't bother running, he just stood there and he smashed a great cutter, great hooker, um, and he's just one of those— he's a brilliant, um, a brilliant batsman. But it was just one of the— Yeah, I teased David about it bit, uh, obviously. But it was, you know, just an example. People talk about that West Indies team, they talk about the bowlers, but actually, you know, their batting was absolutely awesome. Awesome as well. Was it Larry Gomes who also got runs in that one? I mean, such an understated, hardly ever talked about batsman, uh, who just calmly ran things around at number 3. Go on, Andy, what was it?
Played for Middlesex, didn't he?
Yes, he did. Yeah.
Uh, yeah, so, um, England declared, uh, 300 for 9, uh, on day 5. They'd been 287 for 7 overnight. Um, West Indies chasing 342, 344 for 1 in 66.1 overs at 4.2 and— uh, 5.2 an over.
Yeah, I mean, those days.
Yeah, it's still one of the quickest innings, um, ever played. Grenish, 214 off 242. The one wicket was a run out. That was Desmond Haynes and Larry Gomes 92 not out.
What was our attack then? Because I think, Neil, was it Willis, Foster?
Willis, um, Ian Botham, who took 8 in the first innings, 0 for 117 off 20 in the second innings. Derek Pringle, uh, Neil Foster, and Geoff Miller was the spinner.
Just, uh, just on Golden Greenwich, we, we were with Shaun Yadav, uh, the ex-Hampshire, Middlesex, England player, uh, just a few days ago. We said, come on, Sean, what should your best team that you've ever played with? You know, you, you've got to pick an 11 from those that you've played with. And he went, oh, let's go through. He said that Matthew Hayden, played with Hayden. David Warner, played with David Warner here at Middlesex. Yeah, good opening pair. Number 3, Gower. They were at number 4, Robin Smith, Judge. Number 5, Kevin Pietersen. 6, Freddie Flintoff. Number 7, Adam Gilchrist, played with Gilly here at, uh, Middlesex. Shane Warne at 8. Wasim Akram at 9.
Yeah.
Malcolm Marshall at 10. Jimmy Anderson 11. We were like, what a team! And then we're in the green room after just chatting away. Oh, I forgot Gordon Greenwich. What a team that is.
I agree with you about the— you look at it now, it's all 340, you know, what, one-day matches, you know, teams sort of do quite well on that sometimes under that sort of chasing pressure. But it was, it was the ease with which they did it. And it was sort of, even though they were a great side, it felt unexpected, didn't it? Because David was getting so much stick for not Not pulling out early.
But also, those— in those days, there would not have been the minimum overs in a day, so you could slow it down. Yeah, you could, you know, you could stand however you, however you wanted, but which I'm sure they did. But they still—
Yeah, they won well inside the distance. Yeah. Now, all of you went for— I mean, I think an astonishing moment— the 2019 World Cup. So not a Test match, this is the 150th Test here, but everyone went for 2019. It was actually, it was a strange day, wasn't it? Because it kind of wasn't a great game until the last hour. I remember Mark Woodall said it was a horrible game. I kind of hated the day, really. I hated the match. I remember him saying that when we talked to him about it.
But I can remember there were so many different things, really. The bat that went for 4 off Stokes, the drop catch. I think Trent Boult dropped him there and everything, the singing and everything. But I can just remember being in this commentary box. I think you actually was on on with, with John at the end, and I was, I, I was sort of hauled off because I just kept going, run, run! It was just completely— thankfully Agus was there to sort of explain what was going on, but it was just such— yeah, it was, it was, it was crazy. You got so wrapped up in the game, it was amazing.
Yeah, it was a day we'll never forget then. Yeah, I mean, it really was. And, and you just felt at the start of that World Cup that this was England's moment.
Yeah.
Home World Cup, what a chance really to ignite, ignite the game. The one thing that really still gets me is how Ian Smith, 2 boxes down here, could see that he was run out. Because you look at the view from here and he was running to the far end, throw coming in from mid-wicket, he dived. How could you see from here that he was a yard out? I mean, I don't know how he did it. It just Instinct or, or something, because you couldn't tell. You couldn't, you couldn't tell whether he was actually in or out, and he called it straight away.
Well, his line, the barest of margins, is, is one.
Yeah, and where did it come from? I mean, it just— and he, and he had it. And I've always been a bit cross about mine because I, I honestly, I mean, you thought it was probably right, and of course then England are celebrating, and then it went to the third umpire, which is quite dramatic, and you get the big cheer at the end. But how Ian called that and got the barest of margins and all that stuff live was absolutely remarkable.
I'll tell you who's forgotten a little bit about that— Jason Roy. Yeah, that's right. Smacked out to like a deep mid-wicket. If he'd have fumbled or anything, but he picked it up and got a good throw back to Jos.
But again, that day I remember the pitch was everything that England didn't want. Because it was a sluggish pitch and they wanted a bit of pace so they could smack the 350s that they've been smacking on a regular basis. Dismantled Australia in the semi, you know, just went get rid of the Aussies. And it was a perfect style pitch for the Kiwis, you know, it was their kind of surface. There was a few little calls that went a bit the way of the England side, that drop catch of Bolt.
Yeah, I remember, is it written?
Yeah. And Joffre Archer, uh, you know, Joffre bowling the super over Just getting it right. Just— well, he went first. Just getting— that's why I say just— or first 2 balls or something like that.
Yeah.
And he managed to get it back, keep his composure. Um, so many things around that day. I mean, Jos Buttler playing nice, then he got out and I thought, they've lost this.
The other thing was, okay, did Stokes have a full toss on leg stump and he just tried to knock it for 2 and then Woody got run out? I mean, 9 times out of 10, that's That's over. That's over old father time, wasn't it? And he just sort of knocked it for two. What are you doing? Oh, it's amazing.
The one thing about also is that I mean it was an astonishing once in a lifetime day really with the super over as it was and everything else. Why the ICC has decided therefore they should have as many super overs as you like at the end of a one day that would have you know just just call it kind of quits if if if the super over ends in a tie which they have done already. Because you've only got 6 balls, so the odds are that this— you're going to go on and on and on. That was special. Just, just leave it, you know, leave it as it was.
What, share the cup?
Well, no, you have to find a way. I mean, I, I didn't object necessarily to the— they all signed up. You've got to find some way of, of finding a winner in a tie, haven't you? So you have a super over. If that fails, when you do, I think you do go back to stats. I mean, how long are you going to sit here for watching super overs? You know, how many are going to— one day there'll be 3. You know, someone will score 14, next team will score 14, and you can back again, go and do it again. And it just sucks them— it sucks it out. And I thought that was, that was such a brilliant occasion, you know, just leave it at that. But it was, it was the boundaries, wasn't it? The number of boundaries that were struck in the day. Well, that's a way of separating. I mean, they all signed up to it, they all agreed to it. I know the Kiwis were grumpy about it, but that, that was what was agreed.
Yeah, the singing as well. The singing. I've never heard Lord sing like that. Everyone up in the pavilion when they yeah.
Well, we we were very lucky to to be out there and we did the lap. I remember getting a selfie. Ridiculous. Self for knowing more. You know that that that's noise again. Being out and about when a team celebrating. But Lord has had many many moments of celebration with England teams, but I'd never never heard a crowd like that.
Nice. Just one thought on the— you mentioned the commentary at the end there. I'm just thinking from a technical point of view, I wonder whether actually Ian Smith— I haven't asked him about this, I haven't thought about it— is that whether— because as a radio commentator you're watching the middle, whereas Smithy was probably watching the monitor.
He was watching the monitor, so he had a close-up.
I think he must have had a much better view of what happened at the end than you have from a long distance.
Yeah, I think he would have been watching that monitor with a side-on camera. He must Must have done because you can't— the cloud of dust, you know, all that stuff. So it always just niggles away a bit. That—
or he went with England celebration.
That hadn't happened quickly enough. He called it straight away, didn't he? Yeah, he's run out, won by the barest of margins. He went for it.
Uh, final 2. Uh, Michael, you went for the 2017 Women's World Cup.
Yeah, yeah, I went on. You've got the Sikva defending against India, won by 9, near-on sellout, which was historic for, for the women's game. Uh, back then. And again, I, I remember just sitting at home watching the whole thing. You know, India were controlling the game, absolutely controlling that game. It was done. And from the pavilion end, she produced one of the great spells to, uh, get England that trophy in the hands. Yeah, but it was, it was, it was the crowd and the atmosphere that came through the television. And obviously to see Anya doing what she's done here, it was a special, special moment.
She didn't stop Drop an absolute uber at mid-off. Jenny Gunn. Yes, Jenny Gunn. That was it. And we all got, oh no.
And then I think that was the commentary. I think whoever was commenting— I'm trying to think who was commenting at the time— just said, oh no. You don't normally hear on a, you know, sort of non-partisan commentary.
The next ball, I think it would be like sort of, you know, poles everywhere. And that, that won it. Yeah, great day.
So final, uh, memory actually is one of yours, Tuffers. Oh, and it's the last time Shoaib Bashir Bowed in a Test match, full stop.
Well, I know, against India. Well, that was again another feisty encounter, wasn't it? Yeah, glorious hot sunny day, wasn't it? You could see 2 teams really smashing up against each other. Lots of chat. Was it crawl it and duck it and everything like that?
But Gill getting in.
Yeah, should be Gill getting in and everything like that. And then that delivery, we there again, oh no, with, you know, India are going to save it here. They started playing really well. And then that delivery from Showib, which poor old— what was it? It took a left turn.
It did, it did.
I've never seen a delivery like it. No, who was batting?
You know, Siraj.
Siraj, that's right. He's just gone back and he's sort of punched it back up the pitch and it sort of spun back and then took a left turn and just hit the thing. And I can remember I was commentating on that and I laughed, I laughed. That's what went Oh, he's bowled him! It was just such an incredible—
we heard it at the start, they all kind of like muttly laughed.
Yeah, that was it. And I just couldn't believe it, you know. And then again, the celebrations and the crowd have all gone up. Showim was punching the air, you know, he'd broken his finger. And it was just that intense cricket that had been all the way through the Test match, you know. They'd been right at each other, just trying to get that sort of inch in front of each other. And then just what a ball, just a little Funny little spinny thing sort of wiggled its way back and just knocked a bail off.
That was, that was a great game. Yeah, it was. I remember the night before when I think it was Brydon Carr charging in, you know, he got a couple, uh, and then Joffre's spell on the last morning. Yeah, did for Rishabh. I think he knocked Rishabh Joshi flying out the ground and he was, uh, yeah, that, that again, it's just the atmosphere here when it's hot here and, you know, and the game's good and it's really kind of closely fought and there's a little bit of You know, we've had some real needle here at Lord's over the years in terms of teams going at each other. And, you know, I think they can— they kind of really get it here, the crowd. They get the understanding of what's happening out in the middle. Not saying other venues don't, but there just seems to be an incredible atmosphere when, when the game gets hot. The crowd get in, get involved.
And literally the temperature as well. It was a glorious summer's, you know, shirt sleeves were on, you know. I mean, it was just brilliant.
Yeah, it was an incredible Test match. 387 played, 387 played, 190 played, 170, something like England winning by 22 runs. Is that the tightest finish by runs we've had in a Lord's Test match? I've just thrown that beamer at Zolt.
Yeah, that was the closest finish by runs, the 22-run victory for England against India last year. Second closest was that Ashes Test, Australia winning by 43 in 2023 with the the Jonny Bairstow incident. There was a 51-run win for South Africa in a classic game in, uh, 2012 as well. The 2 closest by wickets were those 2 games we mentioned earlier on, the West Indies Test of 2000 that Michael, uh, played in and played a big part in that 4th innings chase, and, uh, the Pakistan 2-wicket victory in, in 1992. So, um, not too many really close finishes in, uh, in Lord's. Lord's, one of the sort of most notable games, West Indies won here in 1950, their first win Um, in England, it was the longest Test ever played at Lord's in terms of overs. We're having one of the shortest ever here. There were over 600 overs in that, uh, in that match across, um, it was quite a short 5th day as well. They really churned through them in those days.
Should mention '63 and Colin Cowdery and his broken arm coming out, uh, the last pair together. Had his arm broken by, by Wes Hall. He never actually faced a ball, did he, unlike poor old Paul Terry, and he was subjected to it up in, up at Old Trafford. So So Colin's at the non-striker's end. And Chris Woakes as well. Yes, absolutely. He felt— yes, he had to face. So Colin never had to face a ball. 1963, it was all considered very, you know, very exciting. Brought the nation to a standstill, that, uh, that radio, radio commentary. But it's a famous picture, isn't it? Same wandering down those pavilion steps and out with his broken arm.
Another sort of famous Test moment in 1934. Yorkshire's Headley Verity took 14 wickets in a day against Australia to bowling them to to victory. England didn't win another Ashes Test on this ground till 2009.
How many first— how many times have the first 3 balls of a Test match been hit for 4?
Well, that happened in that '63 Test.
It did. Conrad Hunt bowled by Fred Truman, who didn't talk about it very much.
Well, he did take, I think, 11 wickets in that Test.
Got better for him.
Yeah, I suppose the other thing about Lord's as well is because there are many more Lord's Test matches, there are many more memories, aren't there? You know, the 150 50th. But, you know, often in an English summer there are 2 Lord's Test matches. This summer there are 3.
Okay, I might— I do digress here a little bit, but you can't forget the grub. You can't forget the food.
I think it might be time to bring this to an end.
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