Stories regarding British
ITV commentator Tony Jardine's off-track skills on grass reached the English riders in the Superbike World Championship last week at
Silverstone as the group enlisted his services for an England versus the Rest of the World football match.
Jardine's debut for a
Rubens Barrichello XI in Spain last month against
Michael Schumacher's team in the Vodafone Charity match, had clearly impressed the selection committee of Messrs Fogarty, Walker and reigning World Superbike Champion and winner of last weekend's British round
James Toseland. Even though the
F1 man had been on the losing side in Spain, the riders recruited him to play in goal for the star-studded English team, which also included a guest appearance from former England striker Les Ferdinand.
"We thought he was so good at blocking people on track we'd put him goal! Then we found out he'd blocked Schumacher a few times on the grass, so we had to pick him."
Superbike legend Carl Fogarty captained the English team comprising the likes of Chris Walker, James Toseland and Les Ferdinand against a Rest of the World side lead by Australian riders
Karl Muggeridge and
Chris Vermeulen, who suffered a 4-1 defeat.
Kawasaki rider Chris Walker enjoyed the Silverstone event nearly as much as his two sixth places in the WSB rounds: "We had fun but I was quite surprised by our veteran goalkeeper's performance, he made a cracking diving save at one point - not bad for an old bloke."
Jardine commented after the game: "There was a free kick outside the box so I asked Liverpool supporter James Toseland to take one post and Chris Walker the other. I then went into European Cup shoot out mode. Inspired by Liverpool ‘keeper Jerzy Dudek, the ape shape arms and wobbly legs worked perfectly. All I could hear was the riders next to me laughing - but we saved the shot."
No stranger to field sports, Tony Jardine is a Vice President of Camberley Rugby Football Club, in Surrey, where he has played in the F1 off-season since the seventies.
