Roman Walker: Former county cricketer takes up darts

A former county cricketer who once took the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has discovered a newfound sporting talent after leaving first-class cricket behind – on the darts oche.

Roman Walker, who played for Glamorgan and Leicestershire in a six-year professional career, left the Foxes at the end of his contract in 2025 and has since realised he has transferable skills which make him a very capable darts player.

The pace bowler, who still plays minor counties cricket for Shropshire, claimed 53 wickets across all formats during his professional career, including 24 in the T20 Blast at an average of just 24.

He is perhaps best remembered, however, for figures of 5-24 for Leicestershire against India in a tour match, which included the wickets of former captains Kohli and Sharma and also talented all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

After leaving Leicestershire, Walker admitted that it took some time to adjust to being out of the professional game, but there was a liberation which came with life on the other side.

“Through the experiences you have in professional cricket, when you are not necessarily in the first-team every week, it is a really tough place to be,” Walker told BBC Radio Shropshire.

“I fell off the wrong side of it and didn’t renew my contract, which I can swallow because it’s all part of the game and professional sport.

“There is an element of you, though, that goes ‘I don't need that stress!’ You go into normal life and you realise you can lead your own life, which is a freedom I’ve not had ever, because I went straight from school into professional cricket.

“On the flip side, if somebody came knocking then I wouldn’t be able to say no – it’s really a knife-edge.”