|
|
|
| July 23, 2003 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1424 |
Stewart to quit after SA Tests
LONDON, July 22: England wicketkeeper Alec Stewart will retire from Test cricket after the five-match series against South Africa starting on Thursday.
Stewart, 40, who plays his 129th Test at Edgbaston this week, has scored 8,281 runs at an average of 40.19, including 15 centuries, since making his debut in 1989-90.
He has played more Tests than any other England player and is second only to his former captain Graham Gooch in the list of England Test run-scorers.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I let Duncan (coach Duncan Fletcher) know this morning over breakfast and then informed (chairman of selectors) David Graveney as well,” Stewart told a news conference on Tuesday.
“It’s not something I’ve taken lightly. I had 13 years as an international cricketer and it’s not something you just give away.
“I could have left it until the end of the summer but I felt it was better to get it over now.”
Fletcher said: “I still believe that Alec is the best all-round wicket-keeper we have got by some distance but there are some young keepers coming through.
“I think he has got better and better over the last couple of years and the thing that has impressed me most is his professionalism and the way he has been a role model for younger guys.”
Since making his Test debut against West Indies in Jamaica in early 1990, Stewart has been one of England’s most devoted servants.
His Test average testifies to his ability as a batsman but it would have undoubtedly been several points higher if he had not also kept wicket for most of his career.
|
|
|
|
