Phil Cunliffe's vital statistics!

Phil once got his car impounded at Luton Airport

Find out more about Phil Cunliffe's commentating debut for BBC Radio Lancashire in 1998, his run in with ex Burnley boss Stan Ternent and wiggling his bottom in his spare time...

Most memorable game?

It has to be Grimsby 6 Burnley 5 on Halloween in 2002. I've never seen anything quite like it - a defensive horror show. I was on my third sheet of paper by half-time as blunder followed blunder and the goals just kept on flowing.

There was a young boy in the row in front who'd never been to a match before and his Dad was at pains to point out he'd never see the like again if he went to a million football matches. The Burnley manager Stan Ternent appeared punch drunk afterwards. He said to me: "Never scored 5 goals away from home before and lost. Unbelievable."

Any commentating disasters?

Several. My debut game for BBC Radio Lancashire is well documented and involved having my car towed away from outside Luton Town FC and impounded at Luton Airport. I had to pay £120 to get it back and was starting to wonder if I'd made the right career choice.

Another howler was at Bloomfield Road when I missed a goal completely. My excuse was that the commentary box had been moved to behind the goal because the West Stand was being demolished. It was a misty Tuesday evening and the Carlisle goalkeeper scored with a giant kick which bounced into the net at the opposite end of the ground - all I could see were the illuminations on Blackpool Tower.

Best and worst manager in post match interview?

I've had my fair share of "run-ins" with managers - partly because some are paranoid, partly because I've asked a silly question. Craig Brown was a dream as he would answer any question no matter how personal or intrusive. David Moyes was also great - most of the time - but he once took exception to my question regarding Preston's "desperate defending" and walked out half-way through the interview.

Ever been a question you wished you'd asked?

Plenty - sometimes you get so wrapped up in what you are talking about that you forget to ask the obvious - although I can't think of any specific examples.

One you wish you hadn't?

Stan Ternent once said in a post-match interview that he could not understand why the players under-performed against Wolves (a 3-0 defeat). "So, are you saying the players weren't up for it?" I said in reply - to which he which berserk. He asked me to stop my tape machine and re-wind it to see if he had said what I was claiming he'd said. It was a humbling experience witnessed by fifty other journalists - some of whom were smirking.

What sport would you say you are you best at?

There are millions of blokes out there who are better than me at football but only hundreds of thousands better at cricket. So looking at the overall picture, I'd have to say I'm better at cricket. As a youngster, I played under 13s for British Aerospace (now Lostock) where I was an elder team-mate of Charlie Dagnall and Michael Powell. Whereas I was distinctly average, 'Daggers' and Powell went on to play county cricket!

I later played for Egerton U15s alongside my brother and remember being carted round the field by one of the Neville brothers (not sure if it was Gary or Phil) when bowling against Greenmount. I gave up my England ambitions shortly after fumbling an easy catch on the boundary that led to the batsman scoring the six he needed to complete his century.

Do you prefer playing or watching?

My debut game for BBC Radio Lancashire is well documented and involved having my car towed away from outside Luton Town FC and impounded at Luton Airport. Phil Cunliffe

That's a tricky one. I love covering games for BBC Radio Lancashire when I'm obviously required to watch intently, but I also enjoy playing 5-a-side football with my mates or running in to bowl for our cricket team. I watch fewer TV matches these days probably because I'm fed up of seeing the same teams hogging the box all the time like Man U and Liverpool.

What sports do you watch on telly?

Away from football, I'm a huge cricket fan and I also enjoy watching the 'blue-ribbon' events such as golf's Open Championship, the Grand National, the Olympics and Wimbledon. Darts is great to watch, too, especially with a beer in hand.

Who are your favourite commentators?

There are a lots of good commentators out there and then there are those who just state the obvious! Clive Tyldesley, John Champion and Steve Wilson seem to capture key moments beautifully without resorting to cliches. They have expansive vocabularies and powers of description but without being pompous. Radio is different as you have less time to consider your words. It's more of a knee-jerk reaction when someone scores a goal or gets sent off. Geography (where the ball is) and picture-painting are really important.

The best in the business was the late Peter Jones who I still really miss. Likewise, I grew up listening to Test Match Special where Brian Johnston and John Arlott provided the sound-track to my child-hood summers. Jonathan Agnew is terrific and is a throw-back to that golden era.

Any sports you detest or can't get into?

Believe you me, I've tried and tried to get into American Football but I just don't get it! I can't seem to follow the ball or understand what all that madcap running here, there and everywhere is about. Similarly, I love the Olympics but struggle to share my wife's enthusiasm for Dressage and BMX Biking - I'd rather watch the carpet fade quite frankly.

Your greatest ever sportsman or woman?

I've been privileged to meet some true sporting legends as part of my job. Nat Lofthouse and Sir Tom Finney are two gentlemen I admire greatly - they were great competitors who played the game in the right spirit, were loyal to their home town clubs and represented their country at the highest level. Sir Tom is still the most accommodating, down-to-earth superstar ever and is a role model for any aspiring sportsman or woman. Nat should be knighted in my opinion.

However, if pushed I'd have to say the greatest sportsman of all time was Sir Don Bradman. Often a reluctant hero, the Australian batsman was born in Cootamundra in the outback of New South Wales, learned how to bat with a cricket stump and golf ball and went on to dominate cricket like no other. His Test batting average was 99.94 and it would have been a perfect 100 had he not been denied the chance to bat twice in his final test at the Oval. I doubt we'll ever see the like again.

Off the pitch interests:

I was asked by the BBC to look into my family history as part of the Who do you think you are? series, and I admit to being hooked. It's been quite a story of discovery and I'd recommend anyone have a go at doing their family tree.

I play football quite a bit (6 aside)...and although I once swore never to do it, I'm well into gardening. I can also be seen from time to time playing the piano and wiggling my bottom in a rock band!