I am delighted to announce that former England captain Michael Vaughan is joining TMS as an expert summariser and he will make his Test match debut with us during our ball-by-ball coverage of this winter's tour of South Africa.
I'm hoping his introduction to our Test commentary team is less traumatic than his Test debut as a player which also took place also in South Africa 10 years ago when he famously faced his first ball in Test cricket with England 2-4 after Butcher, Atherton, Hussain and Stewart were all dismissed inside three overs as Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald made the most of a damp morning in Johannesburg.
He impressed many that day with a battling 33 and went on to play 82 Test matches for England and enjoyed a spell as the number one ranked batsman in the world.
Vaughan was more than just a fantastic player - he became the most successful England Test captain of all time and who could forget how he helped bring to an end 18 years of hurt with that never-to-be forgotten Ashes success of 2005.
But enough of his record as an international player - what else will Vaughan bring to the TMS box ?
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One of England's most famous artists, a 90-year-old former Lancaster bomber pilot and a member of the Bee Gees... it could only be another interval on Test Match Special!
The unusual trio joined us during the break at the second Natwest one-day international at Lord's on Sunday to discuss a special commemoration of Bomber Command which is taking place at the ground. During the Second World War, Lord's was used as an "Air Crew Receiving Centre" - where young aircrew volunteers were received prior to being posted for training to the likes of Canada, the USA or South Africa before joining RAF squadons in the Bomber Offensive against Germany.
The Lord's museum is running a special exhibition to mark the 65th anniversary of the receiving centre being closed and handed back to the MCC, and on Sunday we were entertained by the RAF Central band and a fly-past of a Lancaster bomber.
Also in the crowd at the game were 20 veterans who were invited as special guests of the MCC including pilots, navigators, wireless operators, flight engineers and air gunners, several of whom were decorated for gallantry in air operations.
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The nights may be starting to draw in and autumn TV favourites like The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing are beginning their long, relentless runs through to Christmas.
But there is plenty of life left in the English cricket summer with seven one-day internationals between England and Australia still to play, not to mention the climax of the County Championship and Pro-40 competition.
It certainly didn't feel like summer at Manchester as spectators were left frustrated by two abandoned Twenty20 games, but as I write, the weather forecast seems better for Friday and Sunday for the opening games in the NatWest series at The Oval and Lords, so let's hope we have an exciting three weeks ahead.
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