Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Blowers Off - no longer on the air



Mo Gosfield

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2010
6,276
Literally. Both went to Eton.

Blowers was a very talented wicket-keeper batsman at Eton and he was considered good enough to make a first class career. Sadly that never materialised, after he was struck by a bus, whilst riding his bike close to the college. His injuries were life-threatening and he never fully recovered.
One of the originals...Arlott, Johnners, CMJ, Tony Cozier, Tony Lewis, Fred, The Alderman, Boil and in the background, Bill Frindall.
 


Publius Ovidius

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
45,919
at home
There is a story told to me by an old daily mail cricket correspondent and I am sure it was blowers he was referring to.

He was playing a game and the team had lost the openers with 3 overs to go. The captain turned to blowers and said that he wanted him to go in as night watchman....blowers made it perfectly clear he didn't and the captain said " tough, get out there and protect the better batsman hold an end as it's only two overs left" ..blowers was out stumped second ball for 6 runs! Suffice it to say he wasn't asked to do it again.

Brilliant story!
 




silverwizard

Member
Nov 10, 2009
54
I think the night watchman who was stumped was Phil Tufnnell. I seem to remember him telling this story a couple of years ago. It's certainly in character!
As for old time commentators can I add Max Robertson for tennis and the peerless Eamon Andrews for boxing- never been bettered.
 










Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,521
I know this is both controversial and almost blasphemous, but when it comes to cricket commentary, everybody seems to love an old duffer who sounds a bit clueless but actually isn't, yet is prone to childish giggles and thanking people for baking a cake.

I guess what I'm saying is that in reality, you could put any old slightly quirky, posh cricket lover, give him 2 decades presenting TMS, and he'll end up a "legend". I'm not saying Blowers won't be missed, but are there any of this sort of ilk who haven't had these sort obituary comments written about them?

I think you're doing Blowers a disservice. He is unique - has one of the most distinctive voices in TV / radio history, he has a wonderful turn of phrase and a genuine eccentricity.

I get the thrust of your point though - Dan Maskell was the voice of Wimbledon on the BBC for decades - catchphrase "Oh I say!" - and has become something of a legend for the reasons you listed. I still miss him though - the last decent tennis commentator was Barry Davies.
 






hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,088
Chandlers Ford
I'm sure he is. You can tell that when people like Vaughan and Tufnell are bantering with him, that they have a very genuine affection for the man. I'd like to meet him, but never have.

I met Brian Johnston though - he was sat at the back of the Gilligan Stand, with a friend, in May 1988 watching Sussex play the touring West Indies (he was eating, I recall, a slice of GALA PIE, which seems entirely appropriate). I politely asked him to autograph his picture in a book of cricket caricatures, which I'd brought along in the hope of getting Sir Viv to sign his. Its a beautiful book, but the caricatures are not all entirely flattering so not everybody asked, signed them in good humour. Johnston, inevitably, was lovely about it - an absolute GENT. He was very frail though, which was a little sad to see.

As an aside, the match itself must have been one of the biggest mis-matches in First Class cricket history. The Sussex bowling attack was led by Andy Babbington and Rod Bunting. The West Indies team was as follows:

Desmond Haynes
Gordon Greenidge
Richie Richardson
Carl Hooper
Gus Logie
Viv Richards
Roger Harper
Winston Benjamin
David Williams
Curtley Ambrose
Ian Bishop

:eek:

The match was actually drawn, as the West Indies treated it as a net session, racking up about 1,000 runs, either side of bowling Sussex out cheaply. Harper got a double ton and Richards and Haynes big hundreds. What a privilege to watch though :clap2:

Found the book at home, at lunchtime

IMG_2265.JPG
 


Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,322
Uffern
As an aside, the match itself must have been one of the biggest mis-matches in First Class cricket history. The Sussex bowling attack was led by Andy Babbington and Rod Bunting. The West Indies team was as follows:

Desmond Haynes
Gordon Greenidge
Richie Richardson
Carl Hooper
Gus Logie
Viv Richards
Roger Harper
Winston Benjamin
David Williams
Curtley Ambrose
Ian Bishop

:eek:

The match was actually drawn, as the West Indies treated it as a net session, racking up about 1,000 runs, either side of bowling Sussex out cheaply. Harper got a double ton and Richards and Haynes big hundreds. What a privilege to watch though :clap2:

Just looked it up: the attack was led by Bunting and Meyrick Pringle (one of Sussex's worst overseas players), Babington was first change. Our main bowler at the time, Tony Pigott, wasn't playing.

It was actually a notable game - Viv went past 30,000 runs in F/C cricket and it was Hooper, Ambrose and Bishop's first game in England.
 




hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,088
Chandlers Ford
Just looked it up: the attack was led by Bunting and Meyrick Pringle (one of Sussex's worst overseas players), Babington was first change. Our main bowler at the time, Tony Pigott, wasn't playing.

It was actually a notable game - Viv went past 30,000 runs in F/C cricket and it was Hooper, Ambrose and Bishop's first game in England.

I looked it up too (I wouldn't have remembered David Williams!). That stellar Sussex team includes three players I played with (Babbington, Green) or against (Pringle), within the next couple of years. Pringle opened the bowling for Portslade at Victoria Park, which wasn't the flattest of local pitches, and was pretty much impossible to bat against - a stark contrast to watching Harper, Haynes et al casually dismiss him at the County Ground.
 


Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
33,507
East Wales
Another voice from my childhood rides off into the sunset.

I found his commentary pretty infuriating in recent times, not the anecdotes or busses/cranes/pigeons but what was actually happening in the game, and that I was looking forward to Agnew's stint. Blowers banter with Vaughan was quite good fun though. You didn't often hear Blowers and Boycott on at the same time, didn't they get on?
 


edna krabappel

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 7, 2003
47,228
I know Boycott is an old windbag, but I do like listening to him too. Jim Maxwell is very soothing when he does TMS (only when Australia are in town for the Ashes I think).
 




wolfie

Well-known member
Jul 19, 2003
1,657
Warwickshire
When we are watching MOTD next season, apart from J Pearce, will you have any idea who the commentators are, if you aren't listening to Lineker's introduction ? To me, they all sound the same.
 


Eeyore

Lord Donkey of Queen's Park
NSC Patreon
Apr 5, 2014
23,376


PILTDOWN MAN

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Sep 15, 2004
18,606
Hurst Green
Love listening to Blowers and Tuffers together they are worlds apart in character but really make listening an enjoyable passtime.

Oh and P Alliss and his wife come into my pub I owned in Sedlescombe, they were staying across the road in The Brickwall Hotel.He has a lot to do with the owner and his Charity. What a lovely couple, spent a quiet afternoon in their company. He doesn't give out autographs but did for me on an old golf book he gave me, we raised £300 in our golf society after dinner auction for the local school pta.
 


The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
I know Boycott is an old windbag, but I do like listening to him too. Jim Maxwell is very soothing when he does TMS (only when Australia are in town for the Ashes I think).

Maxwell (1): "For those of you listening on DAB or BBC iPlayer, we're staying here, while listeners on Radio 4 long wave must leave us for THE SHIPPING FOOORECAAAAST... [brief pause] Aaand, Australia are all at sea here..."

Maxwell (2), in 2015 when Australia were being torn apart by Stuart Broad, who eventually took 8/15: "And if you're just turning on the radio in Australia to listen to this Test match, turn it off again..."
 




Ludensian Gull

Well-known member
Apr 18, 2009
3,651
Thorpness Suffolk
Good list, To that I'd add: David Coleman, Harry Carpenter, Brain Moore & Hugh Johns. From the present day, 5 Live's John Murray and John McEnroe, who talks about tennis better than anyone.

Hugh Johns has always been my favourite commentator.
 


Iovan The Sweeper

New member
May 16, 2016
169
There's a great story in one of Simon Hughes' books about when Blowers was a print journalist.

He covered a game between Essex and Surrey in 1983. The first day was washed out, and day two was largely made up of a Keith Fletcher century for Essex. Blowers had to leave the match at 5.30pm, after Essex's innings, so wrote his article focusing mainly on Fletcher's century.

There was an hour left of play, so he wrote the last line as "In reply, Surrey were BLANK for BLANK". He asked a sub-editor to fill the scores in.

Later on, he phoned the sub-editor to ask if the article was ok, and to check what Surrey finished on.

The reply from the sub-editor was 14 for 10.

Blowers had missed one of the lowest scores in first class cricket history...
 



Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports


Top
Link Here