Neil Durden-Smith


Neil Durden-Smith OBE is a former English sports commentator and first-class cricketer.

Life and career

Durden-Smith was educated at Aldenham School and the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon. His service as an officer in the Royal Navy from 1952 to 1963 included a period as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lord Cobham, from 1957 to 1959. He worked as a radio and television sports commentator and producer in England from the 1960s to the 1990s.
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 against Nottinghamshire in 1961.
He was awarded the OBE in 1997. He has been married to Judith Chalmers, a television presenter, since 1964. They have a son and a daughter; their son, Mark, is also a television presenter.