Neil Durden-Smith (born 18 August 1933) is an English former sports commentator. He was previously a naval officer and played a small number of

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

matches.

Life and career

Durden-Smith was educated at

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ag ...

and the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

Dartmouth, Devon Dartmouth () is a town and civil parish in the England, English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the western bank of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies w ...

. His service as an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

from 1952 to 1963 included a period as aide-de-camp to the

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand () is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and lives in the United Kingdom, he, on the Advice ...

, Lord Cobham, from 1957 to 1959. He worked as a radio and television

sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

and producer in England from the 1960s to the 1990s, often covering

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

. He played four matches of first-class cricket in the 1960s. His highest scores were 33 and 50 in his first match, for

Combined Services The Combined Services cricket team represents the British Armed Forces. The team played at first-class level in England for more than forty years in the mid-twentieth century. Their first first-class match was against Gentlemen of England at Lo ...

against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

in 1961. Durden-Smith was appointed

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1997.NEIL DURDEN-SMITH OBE British Sports Commentator Pictured at Buckingham Palace after receiving his OBE
/ref> He has been married to

Judith Chalmers Judith Rosemary Locke Chalmers (born 10 October 1935) is an English retired television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme '' Wish You Were Here...?'' from 1974 to 2003. Early life Chalmers was born in Gatley, Cheshi ...

, a

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

, since 1964. They have a son,

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, who is also a television presenter, and a daughter.

References

External links

Neil Durden-Smith at CricketArchive
*
Neil Durden-Smith
in ''

Debrett's People of Today Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Durden-Smith, Neil 1933 births Living people 20th-century Royal Navy personnel Combined Services cricketers English cricket commentators English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Aldenham School People from Richmond, London Cricketers from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Royal Navy officers Military personnel from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College 20th-century English sportsmen