Ainsley, master of the bacon buttie
| 17:45 UK time, Saturday, 9 August 2008
It's been a really frustrating day at The Oval with due to the poor weather on Saturday.
However, a visit from celebrity chef helped to keep us entertained with a very enjoyable "View from the Boundary". The Ready Steady Cook presenter is a huge cricket fan and told us how he is related to former West Indies wicketkeeper .
Although Ainsley was modest about his own cricketing achievements, Graham Gooch joined us to reveal that he had faced the bowling of Harriott in a charity match and was impressed with his speed.
His other cricketing connection is that he used to be head chef at the Long Room at Lord's where he was famed for producing the perfect bacon buttie much loved by the likes of Gooch, Ian Botham and not surprisingly Mike Gatting.
And the weather may be poor but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of Phil Tufnell. When the conversation bizarrely turned to "" and a speech by Portia, Tuffers turned to Christopher Martin-Jenkins and said "Portia... What a great set of wheels." Only on TMS.
As the rain fell we did have time to work on a very special feature for the lunch interval on Sunday which you really should not miss. From 1300 BST we are going to be looking back on the captaincy of Michael Vaughan a week after his .
We will hear highlights of Vaughan's 51 Tests in charge of England which included a record 26 victories including, of course, that dramatic Ashes victory in 2005.
We have assembled an impressive cast list to talk about Vaughan's achievements. You will be able to hear a special interview with former England coach Duncan Fletcher who admits he was "surprised" at Vaughan's decision. Fletcher also offers some fascinating views on Kevin Pietersen's elevation to England captain.
We will also hear from former England skippers who played with Vaughan including Alec Stewart, who was part of the team in 2003 when Michael was thrust into the job after the shock resignation of Nasser Hussain. And there will be a view from Australia to see how Vaughan's decision has gone down ahead of next year's Ashes.
Some of the players who worked under Vaughan, including his great friend and now England selector Ashley Giles, add their views.
And of course we want to hear from you. If you want to share your memories of Michael Vaughan as England captain then please contribute to this blog, e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk or text 84040.
Listen out at tea for our special preview of next week's Friends Provident Final, which you'll be able to hear on TMS on Saturday. We will be joined by Kent captain Robert Key, who should be a lively listen after his "muppet" comments earlier this week about the ECB pitch inspectors.
We will also be joined in the TMS Box by the new Essex superstar Graham Napier fresh from his amazing exploits in Twenty20 Cricket this summer.
So, with a better weather forecast and a match which could go either way, there is no excuse not to tune in from 1045 on Sunday morning!
Comment number 1.
At 10th Aug 2008, Saffavescent wrote:Ainslie talking about bacon butties during a rain delay. This must be the cricketing equivalent of Cliff Richard at Wimbledon.
Let's all pray for good weather tomorrow.
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Comment number 2.
At 10th Aug 2008, nick750 wrote:I thought Ainsley was good value for money.
Entertaining stuff!
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Comment number 3.
At 10th Aug 2008, Toinette wrote:Agreed, nick750.
I listened yesterday and found Ainsley's chatter quite compelling. Never knew that he was such a cricket fan - (or that he was related to Mr Dujon).
Likewise Mark Steel. I hope that he can produce a series on cricket similar to his TV takes on history.
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Comment number 4.
At 11th Aug 2008, DDRamone wrote:I too enjoyed Ainsley's chat, but to be fair, there was a bit of a liberty taken with the truth.
Ainsley was employed by a 3rd party catering company who provide catering at various points within the ground, including the Long Room Bar, so to call yourself Head Chef of The Long Room is stretching it a bit far, especially as there isn't even a kitchen in the Long Room, and the real Head Chef at Lords is employed by of the MCC, and provides fantastic meals a cut above bacon and beef baps.
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Comment number 5.
At 11th Aug 2008, U9563463 wrote:Ainsley for England! Get him to open and bowl against the Aussies. Get Oliver and Ramsey (he has a British passport so is eligible for England) to back him up and we can put the Antipodeans in 'Hell's Kitchen'!
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Comment number 6.
At 11th Aug 2008, fancyaonghus wrote:Is it true that mike selvey has finished with tms?
Why is this? He is an excellent pundit.
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