Editing Jonathan Agnew (section)

===Later playing career and retirement===
In the [[1987 English cricket season|1987 season]], Agnew achieved the feat of [[100 wickets in a season|100 first-class wickets in an English cricket season]] when he took 101 wickets for his county.<ref name=page55/> He was the first Leicestershire player to achieve this milestone since [[Jack Birkenshaw]] in 1968,<ref name="COY"/> which was the season before the county programme was greatly reduced, making the feat much less common.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://static.ecb.co.uk/files/hitting-the-seam-issue-3-page-3-269.pdf |title=Hitting the Seam – issue 3  |access-date=3 November 2011 |publisher=[[England and Wales Cricket Board]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211114407/http://static.ecb.co.uk/files/hitting-the-seam-issue-3-page-3-269.pdf |archive-date=11 December 2009 }}</ref>{{refn|Between 1969 and 2011, the feat was achieved 50 times.<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KDIxbom3Wb4C&q=agnew+100+wickets&pg=PT137 | title = Bats, Balls: The Essential Cricket Book | first = Les | last = Scott | isbn = 978-0-593-06146-6 | publisher = Bantam Press | date = 31 August 2011 | access-date = 26 October 2020 | archive-date = 20 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020235602/https://books.google.com/books?id=KDIxbom3Wb4C&q=agnew+100+wickets&pg=PT137 | url-status = live }}</ref>|group=note}} By this stage, he was working on local radio during the winters and he found the reassurance of the additional income and career path a major factor in his improved form.<ref name=page55>Agnew. ''Thanks, Johnners''. p. 55</ref> ''Wisden'' preferred to attribute his success to "bowling off a shorter run and ... a wicked slower ball added to his armoury".<ref name="COY"/> The achievement led to him being selected as one of the five [[Wisden Cricketer of the Year|''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year]].<ref name="COY"/>

Agnew's form remained good: he followed his 1987 feat of taking the second-most wickets in the County Championship<ref>{{cite web| url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/ENG/Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1987/Bowling_by_Wickets.html| publisher = CricketArchive| access-date = 10 November 2011| title = Bowling in the Brtiannic Assurance County Championship 1987 (ordered by wickets)| archive-date = 1 May 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120501232251/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/ENG/Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1987/Bowling_by_Wickets.html| url-status = live}}</ref> by taking the third-most in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/ENG/Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1988/Bowling_by_Wickets.html |publisher = CricketArchive |access-date = 10 November 2011 |title = Bowling in Britannic Assurance County Championship 1988 (ordered by wickets) |archive-date = 5 March 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305025957/http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Events/ENG/Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1988/Bowling_by_Wickets.html |url-status = live }}</ref> In 1989, with two years of good form behind him and England losing 4–0 in the [[1989 Ashes series]],{{refn|In ''Thanks, Johnners'', Agnew erroneously calls this "the following year" to 1987.<ref name=page55/>|group=note}} Agnew "came frustratingly close to the recall to the England team that I had set my heart on."<ref name=page55/>

County captain and friend of Agnew, [[David Gower]] was England captain, and a number of fast bowlers from around the country called the telephone in the Leicestershire dressing room, to tell Gower that they were injured and unavailable for the [[1989 Ashes series#Sixth Test|Sixth Test]].<ref name=page55/> According to Agnew's account, Gower was at a loss as to whom to call into the squad.<ref name=page55/>

Agnew recalls that county colleague [[Peter Willey]] made a suggestion:

<blockquote>"'What about Agnew?' suggested Peter Willey&nbsp;... 'He's bowling pretty well at the moment.' David's face lit up. 'Of course!' he said. 'Jonathan, you're in. Go home, get your England stuff ready, and I'll call first thing tomorrow&nbsp;...' Even though I was approximately the seventeenth choice, this was still fantastic news&nbsp;... After three disappointing Test appearances, this was my second chance, and the opportunity to set the record straight&nbsp;... [The following day] the telephone finally rang. 'Got some bad news, I'm afraid,' David began. 'I couldn't persuade [[Ted Dexter]] or [[Mickey Stewart]], so you're not in any more. They've gone for [[Alan Igglesden]]. Know anything about him?' With that, David must have known his influence as England captain was over – and indeed Graham Gooch succeeded him after that Test. I felt utterly devastated, and knew I would never play for England again, which had been my main motivating force. So when the ''Today'' newspaper offered me the post of cricket correspondent the following summer, it was an easy decision to make. I might have been only thirty, which was no age to retire from professional cricket, and I could easily have played for another five years. But it was definitely time to move on."<ref>Agnew. ''Thanks, Johnners''. pp. 55–56</ref></blockquote>

Agnew formally retired from playing professional cricket at the end of the following season: Leicestershire's last match of the [[1990 English cricket season|1990 Championship season]] was his last first-class game.<ref name="last score">{{cite web | url = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1990_ENG_Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1990.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120117070306/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Seasons/ENG/1990_ENG_Britannic_Assurance_County_Championship_1990.html | archive-date = 17 January 2012| title = Britannic Assurance County Championship 1990| publisher = CricketArchive| access-date =2 December 2011}}</ref> Aged 30,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/8501.html|first=Martin|last=Williamson|title=Jonathan Agnew|publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]]|access-date=3 August 2011|archive-date=25 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925062736/http://www.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/8501.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Agnew took 1–42 in [[Derbyshire County Cricket Club|Derbyshire]]'s only innings and scored 6 in his only turn to bat.<ref name="list"/><ref name="last score"/> In 1992, two years after retirement, Leicestershire experienced an injury crisis before their [[NatWest Trophy]] semi-final against [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]]. Agnew answered a request to assist and played, finishing the match with [[Bowling analysis|figures]] of 12–2–31–1 (bowling twelve overs, including two maiden overs, and taking one wicket for 31 runs). Leicestershire won the match and progressed to the final, but Agnew chose not to play.<ref name="lessons in life">{{cite web |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/244713.html |first=Steve |last=Pittard |title=The XI last-minute call-ups |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |date=May 2006 |access-date=3 November 2011 |archive-date=10 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010202926/http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/244713.html |url-status=live }}</ref>