From Grace Road to Glory: Jonathan Agnew | Trapped in the Fast Lane

By Tim Murray

Jonathan Agnew has fond memories of his playing days at Chesterfield - and one nightmare. He once made what he describes as "the most humiliating entrance by a batsman in the history of cricket" in a game at Queen's Park. "It's one of my favourite grounds," said the former Leicestershire and England opening bowler. "It was a lovely place to bowl - the wickets had pace and bounce - and it was picturesque. The only thing that spoiled the view was if Michael Holding was tearing in to bowl at you from the other end." 

That was the situation potentially facing Agnew when he went out to bat at Queen's Park on Thursday, August 21, 1986, the second day of a three-day game against Derbyshire. "Shortly before we had played Hampshire at Grace Road," he recalled. "Peter Willey was captain and made me go in as nightwatchman with Malcolm Marshall bowling. 

"The first ball was innocuous down the leg side. It went under my armpit through to the keeper without touching anything. "Nobody said anything on the field but there was a sort of half-hearted appeal from the crowd. "I thought that would do me and walked off. Peter Willey was furious." 

Leicestershire moved on to Queen's Park and Agnew recalled his walk to the crease with Holding bowling thunderbolts. "It was the most humiliating entrance a batsman has made in the history of cricket," he said. "I heard a shout from the balcony. It was Peter Willey saying I had forgotten something. "The next moment there was a white streamer flying through the air and a soft thud as a toilet roll landed beside me."

Agnew's torment was short-lived because he was bowled for a duck by Roger Finney, one of four wickets in eight balls for the left-arm swing bowler. But in the previous year's clash at Queen's Park, Agnew had a much longer innings against Holding. 
The West Indian with the silky smooth run-up was racing in from the Pavilion End. Agnew, with some footwork not found in the MCC coaching manual, struck some powerful blows on his way to 36. 
At one stage, he was backing away so far towards square leg that Holding stopped in his run-up and beckoned him back towards the crease. Agnew recalled: "He said: 'Get back in line'. 

"Jack Birkenshaw was the square-leg umpire and he said he was moving to point, I think he didn't want to be trodden on." But only two weeks after that Aggers - as he is known to millions of listeners of Test Match Special - was on the brink of cricketing immortality. 

Leicestershire were playing Kent at Grace Road and, in the visitors' first innings, he took the first nine wickets. He claimed his eighth and ninth victims with successive deliveries to set up the chance of being the only bowler to clinch all 10 with a hat-trick. 
The Kent No. 11 was Kevin Jarvis who, in a career of 260 first-class games, scored a total of 403 runs. But, on the vital delivery, Agnew bowled a no-ball. He kept racing in but Jarvis was eventually caught off Paddy Clift. 

That nine-wicket haul is testament to Agnew's ability as a bowler, which is in danger of being forgotten because of the excellence of his work as the BBC's cricket correspondent since 1991.

In his youth he was genuinely quick. In the first over of his debut, he beat for pace and bowled Lancashire's Test opener David Lloyd.  

He went on to become one of the most respected swing bowlers on the county circuit in the 1980s, earning three England caps and being named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year in 1988. 
And he did have days of success at Queen's Park - notably in the 1984 Championship game.  

That was a cliff-hanger in which Derbyshire made a spirited chase for a victory target of 333 in the fourth innings.

Agnew ended their hopes 12 runs short when legendary umpire 'Dickie' Bird raised his finger to signal that Ole Mortensen was lbw, Agnew's eighth wicket in the match. 

"We had some great games against the Derbyshire lads - the likes of Geoff Miller and 'Bud' Hill," he recalled. "They were happy days."