Friday 17th May - Newstalk 106-108FM

Ger Gilroy presented Off The Ball from the studio

Rugby Union: Amlin Challenge Cup Final
Leinster v Stade Francais - Dave McIntyre, Eddie O'Sullivan and Keith Wood (8pm commentary), with Liam Toland at pitchside

Newstalk will be providing commentary on the All-French Heineken Cup Final from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin this evening. talkSPORT's reporter on both finals in Russell Hargreaves. Speaking of talkSPORT, Andrew McKenna and the Wasps and England flanker James Haskell will be their commentary team on next weekend's Premiership Play-Off Final.

Saturday 18th May - Newstalk 106-108FM

Joe Molloy presented Newstalk Sport Saturday from the studio

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Final
Clermont Auvergne v Toulon - Dave McIntyre, Keith Wood, Liam Toland and Bernard Jackman (5pm commentary)

Ger Gilroy presented a Heineken Cup Final build-up show from the D4 Hotel in Dublin between 2-4pm with guests including Isa Nacewa, James Coughlan, Eddie O'Sullivan, Neil Francis, Trevor Hogan and Reggie Corrigan.

Any idea who was doing the last test match at Lords please? New voice - utterly appalling, even worse than Simon Mann. Seem to have no clue about cricket whatsoever.

For whom? Five Live? Sports Extra? Talk Sport? IRN?

It won't have been talkSPORT - Jack Bannister was reporting for them as per usual.

I'd guess Groucho is talking about Test Match Special. I must admit I didn't listen any of their coverage so wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to who it was.

If he is talking about TMS, he may be referring to Ed Smith who also commentated during the winter. Ed Smith played for Kent, Middlesex and (for 3 test matches) England.

BBC Radio Merseyside - Monday 20th May 2013.

Ian Kennedy presenting.

Leeds v St Helens - Ray French and Allan Rooney (7:45pm commentary on all frequencies)

Test Match Special: England vs New Zealand, the First Test

Commentators: Jonathan Agnew, Henry Blofeld, Bryan Waddle and Ed Smith

Summarisers: Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott, Phil Tufnell and Jeremy Coney

The new voice being referred to in posts is the former England and Middlesex batsman Ed Smith, he was blooded on ball by ball last summer on a few ODIs and then covered the winter series in NZ. I liked him as a summariser, not convinced of his ball by ball credentials; TMS don't seem to trust Kevin Howells or Ali Mitchell enough, however, to promote them to the A team for test matches so Smith got parachuted in with little broadcasting experience. He writes an excellent column in the New Statesman called 'Leftfield' though.

His website says he will be covering the ashes for TMS which surprised me. I would think that would be only the 2nd test at Lords, which is the only venue that they routinely use 4 commentators for. Blowers has already said he will cover tests 1,2 and 5 and so I reckon Simon Mann will cover 3 and 4 with Jim Maxwell and Aggers doing every game. With the sad death of CMJ, Smith seems to have stepped into Mann's old role, getting a couple of tests but not in the top three (which is probably now Aggers, Blowers and Mann). But I could be totally wrong.

I'd like to see Russell Fuller, Kevin Howells and especially Alison Mitchell being given more of a go; I think she is fantastic and am pleased she is getting some home ODIs this year. Or if they wanted to be really bold Jonathan Overend, who is stepping down as 5 lives tennis correspondent, a brilliant tennis commentator who I bet could crack cricket too. I like a balance between ex-pros and broadcasters. I also really, really miss CMJ, may he rest in peace.

talkSPORT's schedules for the first couple of British Lions matches:

Saturday 1st June
01:00 Extra Time with Matt Forde
06:00 Fisherman’s Blues with Keith Arthur
08:00 The Weekend Sports Breakfast with Jason Cundy & Micky Quinn
12:00 Lions Live - Barbarians v British & Irish Lions
17:00 The Transfer Tavern with Nat Coombs
19:00 Kick-Off with Ian Danter
22:00 My Sporting Life with Danny Kelly

Wednesday 5th June
01:00 Extra Time with Mike Graham
06:00 The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast
10:00 Lions Live - Western Force v British & Irish Lions
14:00 Hawksbee & Jacobs
16:00 Drive Time with Max Rushden
19:00 Kick-Off
22:00 Andy Goldstein’s Sports Bar

Steffan Garrero (currently 'on loan' to BBC 2 Wales for its friday Sport Wales show) has said through his twitter page that Radio Wales will be having a NIGHTLY sports show from next season.


Edit: Details of the show, including radio commentary of RaboDirect Pro 12 matches, are over by yer

Ammendment....

Wednesday 5th June
01:00 Extra Time with Mike Graham
06:00 The Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast
10:00 Lions Live - Western Force v British & Irish Lions
14:00 Hawksbee & Jacobs
16:00 Drive Time with Max Rushden
19:00 Kick-Off - England U21s v Italy U21s - European U21 Championship
22:00 Andy Goldstein’s Sports Bar

Thursday 23rd May - BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

5 Live Baseball with Nat Coombs, Josh Chetwynd and Erik Janssen

Baseball: National League
Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Pirates - Tim Neverett and Bob Walk (commentary provided by KDKA SportsRadio 93.7 The Fan - "The Pittsburgh Pirates Radio Network")

Yet another rain delay affected last night's 5 Live Baseball - the third time this has happened in four weeks. The rain came down during the top of the fourth inning, about an hour and a half into the game at just after 7pm.

The bad weather was unexpected and as a consequence, the 5 Live Baseball team stayed on-air for around half an hour - former MLB on Five producer Erik Janssen, who now works for Major League Baseball, had joined them in the studio to talk about the possibility of baseball and softball returning to the Olympics after meeting IBAF Vice President Tony Castro in London yesterday, so they had an opportunity to have a proper chat with him and play parts of his interview. The Cubs @ Pirates game would eventually restart and reach its conclusion, but only after a rain delay of more than one hour and 45 minutes, so they probably made the right decision to go off-air when they did.

Next Thursday's game is the Chicago White Sox @ Chicago Cubs with coverage starting at the later time of 7pm.

For Five Live Boxing from London, Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler, it will be Colin Murray, Mike Costello, Steve Bunce and Ricky Hatton.

BBC Radio Leicester

Premiership Final, Twickenham
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints - Charles Dagnall presenting, with Bleddyn Jones, Steve Johnson and Martin Ballard pitchside (commentary)

BBC Radio Five Live
R/U: Leicester v Northampton Alistair Eykyn, Ian Robertson, Matt Dawson and Brian Moore (commentary)

BBC Northants
R/U: Leicester v Northampton John Wilkinson (host) with James Knight, Graham McKechnie and Ian Hunter (commentary)

BBC WM DAB

Monday 29th April

Elite League Speedway

Coventry Bees v Wolverhampton Wolves - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator) and Wayne Roberts

Tuesday 30th April

National League Shield Speedway

Dudley Heathens v Mildenhall - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator)

Monday 6th May

Elite League Speedway

Wolverhampton Wolves v Kings Lynn - Richard Wilford (Presenter and commentator) and Rob Gurney (in the pits)

Friday 17th May

Elite League Speedway

Lakeside v Birmingham Brummies - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator) and Richard Wilford (in the Pits)

Tuesday 21st May

National League Speedway

Dudley Heathens v Kings Lynn Stars - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator) and Richard Wilford (in the Pits)

Wednesday 22nd May

Elite League Speedway

Birmingham Brummies v Wolverhampton Wolves - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator) and Rob Gurney (in the Pits)

Thursday 23rd May

Elite League Speedway

Swindon Robins v Birmingham Brummies - Mike Taylor (Presenter and commentator) and Richard Wilford (in the Pits)

talkSPORT

Friday 10th May

Rugby League: Challenge Cup Fifth Round
Hull FC v Wakefield Trinity Wildcats - Mark Wilson

Saturday 11th May

Rugby Union: Premiership Semi-Final
Leicester Tigers v Harlequins - Andrew McKenna and Neil Back (3pm talkSPORT.co.uk commentary), with Russell Hargreaves updating listeners on AM and DAB

Sunday 12th May

Rugby Union: Premiership Semi-Final
Saracens v Northampton Saints - Russell Hargreaves

Formula 1: Spanish Grand Prix
Circuit de Catalunya - Lisa O'Sullivan

Thursday 16th to Sunday 19th May

Cricket: First Test Match
England v New Zealand - Jack Bannister

Friday 17th May

Rugby Union: Amlin Challenge Cup Final
Leinster v Stade Francais - Russell Hargreaves

Rugby League: Super League
Warrington Wolves v Hull FC - Mark Wilson (via phone)

Saturday 18th May

Rugby Union: Heineken Cup Final
Clermont Auvergne v Toulon - Russell Hargreaves

Thursday 23rd to Sunday 26th May

Golf: BMW PGA Championship
Wentworth Club - Rupert Bell

Friday 24th to Tuesday 28th May

Cricket: Second Test Match
England v New Zealand - Jack Bannister

Saturday 25th May

Georgie Bingham presented Saturday Scoreboard from Twickenham

Rugby Union: Premiership Grand Final
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints - Andrew McKenna and James Haskell (3pm commentary), with Mike Bovill producing

Rugby League: Super League - Magic Weekend (Etihad Stadium)
Catalan Dragons v London Broncos, Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Hull FC v Hull Kingston Rovers and St Helens v Warrington Wolves - Mark Wilson

Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying
Circuit de Monaco - Graham Courtney

Boxing: IBF & WBA Super Middleweight Championship Unification Match
Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler - Dom McGuinness (off-tube updates), with Warren Haughton conducting interviews from The O2 Arena

Sunday 26th May

Rugby Union: International Match
England v Barbarians - Russell Hargreaves

Rugby League: Super League - Magic Weekend (Etihad Stadium)
Salford City Reds v Widnes Vikings, Bradford Bulls v Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos v Wigan Warriors - Mark Wilson

Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix
Circuit de Monaco - Graham Courtney

BBC Radio Leicester

YB40: Group C
Unicorns v Leicestershire - Andy Gibbs, John Shaw and Charles Dagnall (FM, DAB and online commentary)

Bbc Wm on Dab/Online - 27 May 2013

Speedway from Monmore Green

Wolves v Birmingham

Commentator / Reporter : Richard Wilford

(Any idea why Speedway is relagated to DAB/Online when Mark Forrest can be received on Fm other than Wm?)

its only football that bbc local radio stations can take the Mark Forrest show off air for

Be interesting to see whether this summer's T20 county cricket takes the Mark Forrest show slot.

Here in the Midlands, BBC Radio Derby and BBC Hereford and Worcester broadcast all the county matches as a medium wave opt-out.

But BBC Radio Nottingham, Radio Leicester and WM and Coventry and Warwickshire have broadcast FM commentary in previous seasons, with most stations programmes on-air from 18:00 for the matches starting at 17:30.

Of course, with all of this season's County matches broadcast online on the BBC website, some stations may be happy to leave it at that, or put it on DAB as WM have done with the speedway.

With this season's evening start times spread across various times between 17:30 and 19:10, there are likely to be some awkward junctions for stations to rejoin the Mark Forrest show.

Incidentally, I noticed that BBC Radio Leicester carried YB40 cricket from 14:00 this afternoon of the Unicorns v Leicestershire match, which did strike me as the station running out of Bank Holiday programming ideas somewhat, considering Unicorns are winless at the bottom of their division.

And although it could be claimed it was a useful exercise to promote the Leicestershire online cricket commentary service, I doubt whether many other Leicestershire YB40 group matches will get such extensive coverage this season.

Monday 27th May - ESPN Radio

MLB on ESPN Radio with John Brickley (early game) and Kevin Winter (later game) from the Bristol, Connecticut studios

Baseball: Interleague
Baltimore Orioles @ Washington Nationals - Dan Shulman and Chris Singleton (1pm EDT commentary)
San Francisco Giants @ Oakland Athletics - Dave Flemming and Jim Bowden (4pm EDT commentary)

It's Memorial Day in the United States, which is the reason why ESPN Radio are doing a double header of Monday afternoon baseball today. The usual MLB on ESPN Radio commentary team of Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton commentated on the Saturday Game of the Week and Sunday Night Baseball during the weekend just gone, both of which were the Atlanta Braves @ New York Mets.

BBC Merseyside opt out for Rugby League on Fridays and now Mondays, when a local team is involved, so your statement isn't correct. Evening cuts have actually benefited rugby league on that station. Before then coverage has been condemned to medium wave and later Digital since mid 90s but now weeknight games are on FM as well with the option to split frequencies.

Saturday 8th June on talkSPORT.......

01:00 Extra Time with Matt Forde
06:00 Fisherman’s Blues with Keith Arthur
08:00 Lions Weekend Sports Breakfast - Queensland Reds v British & Irish Lions
13:00 The Saturday Scoreboard with Georgie Bingham
17:00The Transfer Tavern with Nat Coombs
19:00 Kick-Off with Ian Danter
22:00 Club Histories - Arsenal FC

During their live coverage of England v Republic of Ireland in the football last night, Mark Saggers confirmed that he and Brian Moore will be presenting talkSPORT's live coverage of the British & Irish Lions v Barbarians match from Hong Kong on Saturday. The station's commentary team for the first match of the tour will be Andrew McKenna, Ian McGeechan and Michael Lynagh. McKenna, Mike Bovill and Shane Williams have been covering the Lions team announcement this morning.

talkSPORT and Swansea Sound won't be the only radio stations providing commentary on the British & Irish Lions tour. BBC Radio Cymru have Welsh language commentary rights, while RTE 2fm and RTE Radio 1 Extra will be covering the games in the Republic of Ireland. RTE's press release is here.