New Cricket AM co-presenter Matt Floyd gives us the inside track on his biggest challenge yet...
New co-presenter gives his take on all things cricket
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He has a first-class ton to his name and has played against a host of England players but new co-presenter Matt Floyd says fronting Cricket AM might just be his biggest and most exciting challenge yet...
skysports.com: Now the 'selectors' have picked you to co-present Cricket AM what aspect of your new role are you most looking forward to?
Matt: Over the years
Cricket AM has built up a reputation for having some very varied and interesting guests - from big name cricketers like Murali and Warney to celebrity fans like Brian Blessed! I can't wait to meet this season's guests because I know they won't disappoint! The team has been shooting plenty of new features too and I'm excited to see how they turn out and I'm looking forward to 'Speed Gun' too. Our quest to find the fastest club bowler around could get pretty tasty!
skysports.com: We've heard you aren't such a bad player yourself and actually played five first-class games for Oxford University.
Matt: As a kid I always wanted to be a professional cricketer. I was never quite good enough but thought that going to Oxford would give me the next best thing - the chance to play against professionals. I deliberately applied to a college with a strong sports background and luckily there were a few cricket questions in my interview because the admissions tutor was a big fan!
skysports.com: You made your first-class debut in 2001 against a Middlesex side that included the likes of Strauss, Shah, Fraser and Tufnell. How big a thrill was that?
Matt: It was a pretty incredible experience because I was up against some of my heroes as well as some guys I knew pretty well through playing for Middlesex colts at junior level! So while Gus Fraser was bowling at me Paul Weekes, who I know from Hampstead CC, was sledging me from first slip! It was all quite surreal really!
skysports.com: Strauss scored three runs in that draw. Back then in 2001 did you think you were watching a future England captain?
Matt: That season some very good players didn't get runs against us and often it was the guys you hadn't heard of who turned it on! One player who did look amazing back then, though, was Ian Bell who scored 130 for Warwickshire in a first-wicket stand of 343 with Mike Powell! Belly looked absolute class. Graeme Hick was also great to watch although I'm not sure our bowlers agreed! He hit 164 off 132 balls against us and it got a bit savage at times.
skysports.com: So what is your best achievement as a player...
Matt: Breaking into the first team at Hampstead (a club I've played for since I was nine) at the age of 18 was a very special moment. Also, I won't forget scoring 128no in the 2001 Varsity match. Our whole season was geared towards playing Cambridge - it was our Cup final - and that year we won by three wickets. My innings counts as a first-class ton as well, which is fine by me!
skysports.com: ...and your most memorable moment as a cricket fan?
Matt: I remember jumping around my living room and screaming at the end of the 2005 Edgbaston Test because it was such a tense victory! South Africa's victory over Australia in Johannesburg when they chased down 434-4 to win inside
