Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Thanks, Johnners

  • An Affectionate Tribute to a Broadcasting Legend
  • By: Jonathan Agnew
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Agnew
  • Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (172 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Thanks, Johnners cover art

Thanks, Johnners

By: Jonathan Agnew
Narrated by: Jonathan Agnew
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £13.00

Buy Now for £13.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

My A-Z of Cricket cover art
Over and Out cover art
An Evening with Johnners cover art
Being Geoffrey Boycott cover art
The Wood Life cover art
Ten to Win...and the Last Man In cover art
And Now on Radio 4 cover art
One Long and Beautiful Summer cover art
BBC Sports Report cover art
The Art of Captaincy cover art
The Book of Fred cover art
Patrick Hamilton: Rope, Gaslight, Hangover Square and More cover art
Head On cover art
Alex Ferguson cover art
Sit Down and Cheer cover art
On Fire cover art

Summary

Read by Jonathan Agnew with a foreword read by the magnificent Stephen Fry with surprise contributions from Jonathan's test-match special colleagues!

Perfect for cricket fans everywhere, Thanks Johnners is a warm and witty tribute to Brian Johnston and his time at the helm of Test Match Special.

The Test Match Special on-air incident, in which Jonathan Agnew's comment on Ian Botham's attempt to avoid stepping on his stumps – "He just couldn't quite get his leg over" - provoking prolonged fits of giggles, most notably from Brian Johnston, has been voted the greatest piece of sporting commentary ever.

The friendship between "Aggers" and "Johnners" became immortalised through that broadcasting classic, but there was a far deeper bond between the two men, as this fascinating book reveals.

Jonathan Agnew had grown up to the sound of Johnston, Arlott, and a young Martin-Jenkins et al on TMS as he followed his father around on the family farm, ear glued to the transistor radio, but the two men met formally only when Agnew joined the BBC team at Headingley in 1991. Thus began a great working partnership which, fuelled by a mutual passion for the noble game, bridged the generation gap and ended only with Johnston's sudden death in 1994. As this book demonstrates so convincingly, Johnners's wit, warmth and sense of fun was a feature not only of his cricket commentaries, but also in the way he lived his life. His influence on "Aggers" is clearly recognisable in the same amiable and informal manner in which his successor presents Test Match Special today.

Thanks, Johnners is a rich blend of biography and anecdote, of antics and dramas on and off the pitch, in and out of the commentary box, filled with stories about the great names of cricket, including Fred Trueman, Geoffrey Boycott, Vivian Richards, Michael Holding, and Ian Botham. Just as TMS is the sound of summer, so Thanks, Johnners is the fresh breeze rippling the long grass of remembered pleasures.

©2010 Jonathan Agnew (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

More from the same

What listeners say about Thanks, Johnners

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    105
  • 4 Stars
    55
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    62
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

How can you not love him

Johnners! how can anyone not love him. A British institution, a loveble character but above all, the voice of TMS.
Here we get an insight behind the scenes of Test Match Special.
The controversy, the fun and the rigors of putting the program together.
This is not just a book about Johnners though, Agnew goes into detail of his own career and also other presenters of TMS.
A very good listern for lovers of the program and also cricket.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Piece of cake

Superb account narrated by Aggers himself.
I loved all the anecdotes of TMS box tomfoolery
Wish there were more people in world like Aggers and Johnners, the world would be a better place.
Thanks, Aggers!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Cheer up Aggers!

NOT, as I had hoped, 100 humourous recollections of Brian Johnson.

Rather; jolly recollections interspersed with criticism of Johnners and all involved at TMS. It then descends into "100 things wrong with the modern game". T20, DRS, no good commentators coming through, South African playing for England etc etc.

I did get a sense of the jolly atmosphere of TMS - as one gets on the radio. But there was just so much moaning! Aggers has used his book to complain about things that, as a neutral BBC man, he cannot do on air. Shame

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic read

A must for any cricket /TMS fan without doubt - expertly read by Aggers with brilliant tales of cricket

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Thanks, Aggers

Jonathan Agnew's book and reading remind me of those days when, like many others, I sat watching Test Matches on telly with the sound turned down and listening to Test Match Special. To hear classics like "He couldn't get his leg over" and the ensuing snorts, giggles and cries of "Oh, Aggers, stop it" as well as the stories that Johnners would never tell, like World War 2, remind us fans of why he was so special to us. For those who love cricket and the characters who helped foster that love, this book is a must. It is told in a way that tells his life and achievements as well as showing him as a family man and bon vivant. Sadly it seems we won't see his like again (with apologies to Henry Blofeld and Geoff Boycott).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

An entertainng insight

I prefer audiobooks read by the author, as it brings a new perspective to the narrative. This is no exception - Jonathan Agnew (Aggers) reads his book in an entertaining way, and the stories and anecdotes provide an interesting insight into the world of Aggers, Johnners and TMS. Not rip-roaring, but definitely worth a listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful story

A fabulous tribute to a true gentleman and entertaining broadcaster. It takes you back to a gentler time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exactly what I was hoping for - warm, reflective, and insightful

Narration is excellent, as you’d expect from Jonathan Agnew. Great to hear more of his story, learn a bit of the more recent history of cricket, and discover how the unique tone and feel of TMS was born - Brian Johnston. A warm, reflective, and insightful reflection. Wonderful material to consume between tests in the 2023 Ashes series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great stuff

Loved it for the most. Some bits had me laughing out loud. I leant a lot about a fascinating, schoolboyish and hilarious man. Entertaining, inciteful and witty. last chapter is a bit dated now and a bit if a personal rant from Aggers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Johnners- say no more!

This audiobook is a pure delight. Brian Johnston was the reason why I started listening to TMS and when Johnathan Agnew joined the team, the wonderful warmth and joy their commentary brought to English cricket will never be beaten. The reading of this book was fast paced and full of brilliant stories with a great description of behind the scenes. I would recommend this audiobook to anyone who loves cricket and especially Johnners. I loved it!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!