Cricket Ceefax style

Waking up on the dot of 5am has been a burden this week. That is until my brain starts kicking in and realise it must be for a reason. Of course, it's TMS. So in memory of yesteryear when listening in constantly to the Ashes Down Under meant little else, here's another piece of nostalgia which is occasionally posted. Click here and enter 340 to go back in time.

Genuine Mexican?

A pearler from yesterday's Test Match Special, the last produced by outgoing Peter Baxter. The legendary Tony Cozier had his colleagues in hysterics after being conned by a spoof letter from a Mexican calling himself Juan Carr.

Cozier was reading out emails during the lunch break in Durham, and when the team is usually at its best when they make it up as they go along. He said: "One listener says he is trying to introduce cricket to Mexico but is finding it hard as it's very mountainous and there are no flat areas at all. That's from a Mr Juan Carr."

There can't be too many better places to be than on live radio in the TMS box when genuine laughter takes place. Viv, Aggers and Blowers lost it before Aggers eventually told Cozier, who didn't get the joke: "I think you've been done there Tony."

England back on the radar

Nevermind the cricket, the tension this morning happened off the pitch.

Listening to TMS with a hangover as Arlo and Co attempted to decipher the D/L method and the various other scenarios for England to end their tour on a high was, at times, unbearable.

I've never known so much importance on the 22 balls England needed to bowl to constitute a game. As the team management, commentators and ground staff huddled over their various monitors, checking out weather radar patterns like this one, it also meant a whole deal to Freddie Flintoff.

If the rains had come any earlier, England and Australia would have headed to Adelaide and yet more days Down Under. Instead, England's flight will be an extremely happy one; the dressing-room pictures in Sydney proving that. An amazing ODI series trophy is now in their hands, quelling the memories of the Ashes disaster.

Ashes Diary: Mongolia and mopeds

I went out on my moped in the Capital last night, intent on finding out how London was gearing up for the Ashes series ahead. Here are my edited findings for Nutley:

23:25 It's a reported 28 degrees at the Gabba. Through my visor it is raining hard, spotting one Australian in retro shirt in Piccadilly Circus. There is an Ashes series about to start, why is everyone F*&£in waiting for a bus?

23:55 Sports Cafe, Haymarket. After a ring round, transpires this is the only place showing live action all night. Speakers on full volume, it's like a Cup Final. Amazing atmosphere. How will fans keep up their energy for five days. Restaurant seats with own monitor have been sold out for weeks.

00:02 Steve Harmison's first ball results in a cacophony of laughs from Aussie punters.

1:05 Onwards to Cricinfo's offices to see how they cope with ball-by-ball coverage etc. Three are on duty and shepherd's pie awaits for the lunch break at 2am.
1:20 A reader from Northern Mongolia emails in. "It's very cold," he writes.

2:30 Am warned off going to a cabbie rank under the Westway due to high danger at this time of night, so will have to make do with speaking to a cabbie listening to TMS later on.

Speak to security guards, venture to the Kensington Hotel where the Aussies stayed last summer, and make it back to the Sports Cafe to see if punters have moved on to Vodka Red Bull. Catch last session with TMS in bed - you couldn't end it any other way.