Reporter Derek Goddard was surprised to see his name linked with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club – but that was the headline that appeared on Teletext this week.

The TV news service had him down as the club’s latest recruit – saying he’d signed a one-year deal.

But in reality the Gloucestershire Echo staffer had been inadvertently mixed up with the club’s star bowler Mike Smith, who writes a column for the paper.

Yet the sports section on Teletext – originally sourced from the Echo – read: “Highly-rated Gloucestershire star Derek Goddard has accepted a new one-year deal with the Bristol-based club.”

Derek said: “I thought ‘who’s that Derek Goddard?’

“Then it dawned on me what had happened – they had made a balls-up and had put my name instead of Mike Smith’s.”

But he saw the funny side of Teletext being caught out re-running a story that had been in the Echo.

He said: “Since I have a career best batting of 157 not out and career best bowling of nine for six, I wasn’t altogether surprised they should consider me for first class cricket.”

Writer Derek writes a column in the Echo in which he talks to Mike, and the column always ends with the sentence: “Mike Smith was talking to Derek Goddard.”

When the story was “lifted” by Teletext the bowler and the writer were muddled up… obviously not by a local cricket fan.

The re-written account went on: “Goddard has put a career in law on hold while he attempts to help the county achieve domestic glory.

“He told the Gloucestershire Echo: ‘I’m pleased to have another year. One or two of us are getting on a bit but I wouldn’t have accepted if I thought I’d be playing in a losing team’.”

Teletext staff realised the gaffe only when an Echo reporter rang to tell them. They apologised and made the correction.

And the real cricketer, Mike Smith, said: “It’s amazing this happened. All I can say is if Derek wanted a trial then he would need to contact the club but age may count against him – we take 17 to 19-year-olds normally.”

Sixty-something Derek Goddard would be the first to admit his cricketing days are over.

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