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Nigel Martyn, the former England goalkeeper now turning out for the national over-60s cricket side, recalls a moment of pure joy at the crease. “I once hit a six in very murky conditions to win a game which got us promoted,” he says, his voice drifting into a reverie. The man who made 846 club appearances, became English football’s first £1 million goalkeeper, played in two World Cups and an FA Cup final, and donned the gloves for Leeds, Everton, and Crystal Palace, finds himself lost in the memory of a single shot. “Wow. I remember that feeling was … yeah. That was as good as any feeling that I had on a football field.”

Noticing a hint of disbelief, Martyn explains further: “It was right down to the wire, I think we had one wicket left and it was almost pitch black.” The game took place in Cookridge a few years ago, with Martyn, now 59, playing for Leeds Modernians in the Airedale & Wharfedale senior cricket league. “The ball before I had not seen at all. I decided to just swing at the next one and somehow I really middled it! If I close my eyes I can almost feel it now. Then it was pandemonium.”

When reminded that he was in goal for one of English football’s most dramatic moments—David Beckham’s 93rd-minute free-kick against Greece in 2001 that secured England’s spot at the 2002 World Cup—Martyn laughs. It was his long ball forward that led to the foul on Teddy Sheringham and ultimately to Beckham’s equaliser. “That was a horrible final few minutes,” Martyn says. “The lads in defence kept passing the ball back to me, inviting all this pressure on. I kept thinking: ‘Rio, don’t give it back to me, get it up there!'”

Martyn was unaware at first that Beckham’s goal was enough to send England through. “That moment of euphoria was in a way taken away from me. We had to match Germany’s result and I just assumed they had won their match against Finland. Steve McClaren [then assistant manager to Sven-Göran Eriksson] only managed to get a message to me seconds before the whole ground knew.”

A severe ankle injury ended Martyn’s football career in 2006. Soon after, he picked up a different kind of glove—that of a wicketkeeper. Growing up in St Austell he was a promising young cricketer, but didn’t get to play once he turned professional with Bristol Rovers in 1987. Few former teammates shared his love for the game. “I’m racking my brains, I can only really think of Phil Neville having a passing interest when we were at Everton together.”

A few years after retiring, Martyn decided to return to cricket. “I didn’t take it seriously enough at first and ended up tearing one of my hamstrings pretty badly.” Fortunately, his daughter, a physiotherapist for Harlequins, encouraged him to start training again. “I’ve never been much of a runner, but I always loved diving around and catching balls,” he says.