Unfortunately for many who play professional sport, there is a day that will arrive that will be one of the most upsetting and challenging days to try and process in an individual’s life. Its the time to retire.
Indeed, retirement from a game that a sports professional will have loved for decades as a player, whilst even longer as a fan, will be an incredibly emotional occasion and one that will not be looked forward to by anyone, however it is something that is inevitable and one that will always continue to happen.
There are a couple of players who will be playing their last cricket season ever this year as they compete for their counties in the English game in the County Championship, with some having already signaled their intention to hang up their bat, gloves and pads once the summer is over. The County Championship is the longest form of the game in England, with teams competing in matches that can last four days, with Somerset considered to be the favorites to be the overall winners of the competition at Unibet, one of the best Canada sports betting sites available on the market.
These are just some of the players who will be giving up the ball and bat, as well as a couple of individuals who may decide the game is no longer for them as their bodies age and demands of the game might just be a little too much next year.
Rikki Clarke
Surrey’s legendary all-rounder, Rikki Clarke, has only recently confirmed that he will be retiring from the game at the end of the season. Having played in over 665 matches for Surrey, Derbyshire, Warwickshire and even England, the 39-year-old has decided this season will be his last.
He has been incredibly effective wherever he has played and across all formats of the game, as he has stats of 795 wickets, 587 catches and an impressive 17,750 runs to his name, all of which are likely to improve whilst the season continues for a handful of weeks.
He has spent two spells at the Kia Oval with Surrey, winning two County Championship titles and a Twenty20 Cup, whilst he won another County Championship, the T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup with Warwickshire before returning to south London.
He was instrumental in helping Surrey to win the 2018 County Championship, as he managed to take 47 wickets and score 500 runs to help them get over the line.
Mitch Claydon
Another name that is set to exit professional cricket this summer as a retiree is Sussex’s Mitch Claydon. A seamer, Claydon has had a 17-year professional career playing for a variety of clubs but has decided it is time to stop storming down the wicket and skittling batsmen out with his medium-fast left-arm pace.
An Australian-Englishman, the 38-year-old represented Canterbury, Central Districts, Durham, Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex in his career, playing in 112 first-class, 110 List A and 149 T20 matches taking 610 wickets across all formats.
He won the County Championship on three occasions with Durham, as well as the Friends Provident Trophy, whilst winning promotion to the County Championship First Division on two occasions with Kent.
Could Darren Stevens and Tim Murtagh retire?
Although both men look to be rather evergreen with their cricket contributions as they get older, both Darren Stevens and Tim Murtagh are men that would appear to be edging closer to retirement, although there has been no suggestion at this present moment.
Stevens only recently signed a contract extension with Kent for this season, but at 45-years-old, his future in the game surely has to be coming to an end despite being incredible in his 40’s.
Murtagh is not as old as Stevens, but at 39-years-old, there might not be too much left in the tank for the English-Irish Middlesex fast-medium bowler. He has shown no signs of slowing down for his county, but it might be something he is considering at the moment.
