Cricket fans will be bowled over when Rain Stops Play comes to Hall for Cornwall next month.
The show offers the unique opportunity to share an hilarious and memorable evening with Test Match Special commentators and cricketing legends Jonathan Agnew, Mike Gatting and Geoff Miller with host Ralph Dellor as they recall their favourite anecdotes of 'Life in the Box'.
1957 saw the birth of this sporting phenomenon when the BBC became the first broadcaster to offer ball-by-ball coverage of a Test Match. Now familiar to millions, Test Match Special has become one of Britain's national treasures, a home from home for the nation's cricketing greats.
Jonathan Agnew is the BBC's cricket correspondent and former Test Cricket fast bowler playing for Leicester. Now a TMS mainstay, he is also famous as the catalyst for the legendary Brian Johnson's infamous fit of giggles after Ian Botham was out hit wicket for "failing to get his leg over" according to Agnew.
Former England captain Mike Gatting was a prolific batsman for his county and England, playing 79 Test Matches and scoring over 36,000 first class runs. He skippered the side that retained the Ashes in 1986-87 but was also the unfortunate batsman on the receiving end of Shane Warne's "ball of the century" in 1993.
Geoff Miller spent 20 years on the professional cricket circuit representing Derbyshire, Essex, Natal and England. He travelled to all the major Test-playing countries and played with or against some of the greatest players in the game. To which he freely admits: "I wasn't one of them!" As The Sun once said: "The England team needs Geoff Miller like Parliament needs Screaming Lord Sutch!"
Fittingly, the first seeds for Rain Stops Play were sown during a cricket match. Playing at Wormsley, the private ground of the late Sir Paul Getty in Buckinghamshire, were the likes of Zimbabwe Test bowler Henry Olonga, former South African wicket-keeper Dave Richardson and Rain Stops Play host Ralph Dellor. A fellow team-mate suggested the idea to Ralph Dellor: "Strangely enough," Ralph replied, "I had a similar idea some years ago. I'd be very happy to talk about it, but I think you should at least finish your over first!" And thus a show was born.
Continuing the long-held tradition of expanding the waistlines of TMS commentators, the audience is invited to bring cakes to the Hall for Cornwall stage door! The winner will receive a special prize on the night Rain Stops Play comes to the HfC at 8pm on Friday, February 9. Tickets are priced £10.50 to £14.50 plus concessions with a 75p Theatre Fund payment on each ticket sold. Contact the Box Office on 01872 262466.
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