SYDNEY: Tearaway paceman Shaun Tait, who bowled one of the fastest balls ever recorded in Test cricket for Australia against England in 2010, has retired from the sport aged 34 because of an elbow injury.

Tait, who bowled with an unusual slinging action, represented Australia in all three formats, playing three Tests, 35 one-dayers and 21 Twenty20 Internationals.

In 2010, during a Test at Lord’s, Tait bowled a delivery measured at 161.1kmh (100.1mph) which was the equal second-fastest recorded delivery of all time, along with another from compatriot Brett Lee. Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar has the record at 161.4kmh (100.3mph).

Tait played for South Australia and through a 15-year career also played for professional teams in England, India, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

“I honestly wanted to play a couple more years, whether it was over in the UK or here,” Tait told the Cricket Australia website. “The elbow has pretty much gone off a cliff now.”

Tait, who had retired from first-class cricket in 2009 and One-day Internationals in 2011, continued to play as a Twenty20 specialist, with his last match coming for the Hobart Hurricanes against the Sydney Thunder in the 2016-17 Big Bash League.

Tait was instrumental in Australia’s 2007 World Cup triumph in West Indies, where he was the joint-second highest wicket-taker with 23 dismissals in the tournament.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2017