2 months ago
21
Test Match Special scorer Andy Zaltzman will not only arrive in Pakistan with all the statistics listeners need, he is carrying something maybe even more important – England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith’s pads.
Smith, on his first tour as England’s Test keeper, was due to take a delivery of pads from equipment manufacturer Gray-Nicolls.
But the 24-year-old's kit may not get to Multan from India before Wednesday - after the first Test begins on Monday.
So Gray-Nicolls looked at other ways of getting the equipment to Pakistan and noticed the announcement of the TMS commentary team on social media.
With the help of former England captain Sir Alastair Cook, a TMS pundit and user of Gray-Nicolls gear, the commentators were contacted and Zaltzman entrusted with the vital cargo.
“When you get a call like that, you have a sacred, holy duty to step up to the plate,” said Zaltzman, who is also a stand-up comedian and presenter of The News Quiz on BBC Radio 4.
“It’s a huge weight of responsibility I’m not sure I’m entirely ready for. Destiny deals you the cards and you have to play the hand you’re given.
“I’ll do my best to look after the pads in transit. You can’t turn down an invitation to take an England wicketkeeper’s pads a third of the way around the world.”
Zaltzman took delivery of a pair of keeping pads for Smith on Friday and will fly to Pakistan later in the day.
TMS will have ball-by-ball commentary on each of the three Tests, beginning on Monday at 06:00 BST.
And Zaltzman feels he is repaying a debt to Smith, dating back to a fixture involving his county Surrey a number of years ago.
“I’ve not met Jamie personally, but I went to a Surrey T20 game a few years ago,” Zaltzman explained.
“We had seats in front of the dressing room and Jamie was 12th man, still a really young player.
“My son had his autograph book and got every player that came up and down the stairs. He got Jamie’s signature three times in about eight minutes. Jamie very patiently signed his book, even though by the third time I could see him looking at my son thinking ‘come on kid, you have to put in more effort than this’. I feel I owe him a gesture of generosity.”
Zaltzman is a cricketer himself, turning out for Penshurst Park near Tonbridge. He is a gritty, left-handed opener who, by his own admission, “wouldn’t fit into the Bazball regime”.
A regular keeper in his younger days, Zaltzman now takes the gloves “sporadically” and is “quite a bad wicketkeeper”.
“I could have taken my own pads and lent them to him, but I find when I wear them, I drop a lot of balls, so I wouldn’t want him to wear those,” said Zaltzman. “I like to think if I succeed in this position, I will be the first port of call for bringing any spare kit future touring teams may need taking.
“I will massage statistics into the pads to make sure he takes 100% of the chances and lets through no byes. That is all I can do.”
