Lily for Leeds?

At the start of the Edgbaston Test it was Phillip Hughes who caused a stir in the on-line world by announcing his exclusion from the Australian Test team via a message on the social networking site "Twitter"

Well the next revelation we hear via Twitter is that super-cool singer song writer Lily Allen is a big cricket fan who listens to Test Match Special and is considering a career in cricket commentary when her time as a pop star comes to an end. Lily, the daughter of actor Keith Allen, revealed how she was listening to TMS whilst driving down the M4 during the Third Test and was intrigued by the description of England bowler Graham Onions as "tall, dark-haired and pigeon-toed".

Jonathan Agnew has been in Twitter contact with Lily offering any cricket commentary tips and whilst I don't think she'll be describing the action at Headingley this week we are hoping Miss Allen may pay a visit to the TMS box at the Oval.
 

Lily Allen, BBC Big Weekend

Whilst Lily serves her commentary apprenticeship, Aggers will be joined at Leeds by ABC Radio's Jim Maxwell and Henry Blofeld. One of my earliest memories of listening to TMS was hearing Blowers describing the end of that sensational Headingley Test back in 1981:

"Bright's bowled the middle stumps out of the ground... England have won... They've won by 18 runs. Willis runs about punching the air..."

Like so many of you, I am sure it was that amazing series that captivated me and turned me into a cricket obsessive. Every time I now visit Headingley I can't resist looking out for signs of the "confectionary stall" that Ian Botham hit a six in and out of, or the site of the scoreboard which famously showed England being 500-1 against winning the game at one stage.

Scoreboard, Headingley, 1981; England are 500-1 to win

And remember, if you want to relive moments of that Test or any other great Ashes highlight, you simply must check out the Test Match Special Ashes Archive (bbc.co.uk/ashesarchive).

Geoff Boycott, who of course played in that amazing game, is one of our expert summarisers for this Test. Boycs will be joined by former England spinner Phil Tufnell and ex-Aussie opener Matthew Hayden who made a very popular Test Match Special debut at Edgbaston.

To be honest, I was a little nervous at first meeting "Haydos". On the field he had always appeared an intimidating presence who terrorised bowlers with his hard hitting and no nonsense approach but, as many of you will have already gathered from listening to him on the air, Hayden is a charming bloke with fascinating views on the modern game as well as such varied subjects as cookery and self sufficiency. He was particularly amazed at the volume of cakes and other treats that kind TMS listeners deliver to our team during Test matches and if you were one of those who sent something to us in Birmingham you will be pleased to hear that your offering almost certainly received the Haydos seal of approval.

As well as ball-by-ball commentary on the vital Test match TMS will also have lots more to offer during our five days in Leeds. Fourteen of the eighteen living Yorkshire men to play tests against the old enemy are gathering at the ground including the likes of Matthew Hoggard, Ray Illingworth, Chris Old and Bob Appleyard and we'll be chatting to many of them about their memories of Ashes Tests on Friday.

We will also hear from the Chairman of the England and Wales cricket board Giles Clarke who will be telling us why he is urging England supporters not to boo Ricky Ponting as well as updating us on the latest plans for the new look 2010 English cricket season.

Our "View from the Boundary" guest during lunch on Saturday will be distinguished actor Simon Williams who starred in programmes like "Upstairs Downstairs", "Don't Wait Up" and "Holby City". We learned about his love of cricket by fortune when we came across him at the Sir Viv Richards cricket stadium in Antigua where he had travelled hoping to see an exciting test match. Sadly, of course, like so many other English cricket fans, he was hugely disappointed as the game was abandoned after just a few deliveries. Let's hope he has better luck this week.

During the lunch interval on Sunday we have the latest in our new series where you get the chance to challenge the knowledge of "Umpiring guru" John Holder on some of the more bizarre laws of cricket. John joined us during the Durham test in May where he was able to answer such queries as: "If a ball hits a cow which has just stumbled onto the outfield on the full and is caught by a fielder is that out?"

If you can come up with any more weird and wonderful scenarios then post them on this blog or e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk. And among our other visitors at Headingley will be members of Australian rock band Jet who have recently been working with The Rolling Stones and have played concerts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the SCG.

As ever, there will be plenty of other cricket coverage elsewhere. Arlo White and Phil Tufnell will have all the build up live from Headingley on Thursday evening from 1900 BST on BBC Radio 5 live whilst Pat Murphy, Alec Stewart and Jason Gillespie will have regular updates throughout the test with Mark Radcliffe presenting his afternoon show from the ground on Friday and Peter Allen at Headingley for Drive on Monday and Tuesday. Plus, on Saturday morning from 1100, tune in for 5 lives' cricket comedy show "Yes, It's The Ashes" presented by stand-up Andy Zaltzman - guests this series have already included Lee Mack and Frank Skinner.

David Garrido will report live from the ground for BBC Radio 1 starting with inserts into the breakfast show on Friday and don't forget the legendary daily TMS podcast with Aggers and Geoff Boycott.

Whatever you do don't miss our coverage from Headingley on the game which could - and I only say "could" - see England seal the Ashes. Or, like 2005, will it all go down to a nail-biting climax at the Oval?

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Added By: James Taylor on 05th Aug 2009 - 15:34
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