PERFORMING on the big stage is something BBC Test Match Special commentator Jonathon Agnew is more than used to, both inside and out of the studio.

Having faced the power of the West Indies’ brutal bowling force in the 80s, the challenges that come with playing in the sub-continent, and completing a domestic career that saw him play for the Foxes of Leicestershire, Agnew eventually hung up his pads in 1990.

It’s a playing career that some may have forgotten, but in many ways that merely highlights how familiar his iconic dulcet tones have become. His inimitable voice is known not just to keen cricket supporters but also to casual listeners.

And it’s his playing successes and the stories that naturally flow from his years as a commentator that have inspired the latest challenge for Aggers, as he is affectionately known.

An Evening With Aggers is currently touring the UK and will be stopping off in Swindon next month.

The 58-year-old previously toured the UK’s theatres with TMS colleagues Geoffrey Boycott and Phil Tufnell.

During the evening he will be reflecting on his days in the middle, while touching on the dramatic transformation that the media and sport have undergone since the turn of the millennium.

“I like having an audience, to have people laughing and joining in is nice,” said Jonathan. “There’s a much more intimate atmosphere in the theatre than doing anything else.

“ Speaking in the theatre is different, it requires a different form of communication – and that’s why I enjoy doing it.

“To be out on the stage by myself will be strange, when you’re with somebody you can work your way through things together and keep track of where the conversation is going. But when you’re doing it all by yourself, it will take a while to get used to it.’’

It’s Aggers’ relationship with his listeners that makes him such a high profile name in the sport.

As recently as England’s third test against India at Trent Bridge – a game which England lost – Jonathan was sent a touching email by a fan regarding his father’s death.

On a lighter note, a wind-up on Boycott last summer went viral on the internet after Agnew convinced the former international batsmen that his 100th hundred was no more.

Memories sourced from across the globe make Aggers’ talk flow from start to finish.

He admits the ways of gathering stories has changed dramatically since his playing days – and not necessarily for the good.

“It’s a funny relationship – the relationship with the players is a very delicate one,” he said. “You have to criticise but criticise constructively – you have to remember the person you criticise today you will then have to speak to tomorrow.

“How the media works with players is interesting, and one that some people on social media don’t fully understand.

“Players and the media are managed now. When I started as a journalist there were no media liaison people attached to teams. But now, everything is structured – I find that quite frustrating.

“When I started commentating, you would shuffle up to a player in the bar and ask for five minutes of their time.

“You then got your own interview and there was a much more varied coverage in the press because everyone did their own things.

“Now, it’s become so sanitised. Players are briefed to their eyeballs, and it’s a refreshing change when you get to a player that talks directly to you without bothering too much about what he’s been instructed to say.

“It has changed enormously since I started working with the BBC.”

The event is being run in aid of the Professional Cricketers Association and we are raising money which will go