A cricketer's life is made up of a million little decisions. Should he play the ball or leave it, attack or defend, hook or duck, run or shout "waiting!", shape it in or away, go over or round the wicket, bust a gut or bowl within himself, sign for Gray Nicolls or Gunn & Moore? Big decisions, on the other hand, are few and far between, unless he becomes a captain. He might get right to the top and never have a real dilemma. But in the end he can expect to face a big one: to retire or not to retire.Read More
Damien Martyn has taken the bold option, going suddenly, not hanging around for a last hurrah. His departure was as crisp as his offside strokeplay. A tough decision that the selectors had ducked, by bringing him back last season, ended up being taken by the player himself. The same may happen with Ashley Giles in the next few months.
It's understandable that selectors should be confused. International cricket careers are like jeans: there's much less agreement than there once was on how long they should be.
Mike Atherton, who retired at 33 after 13 years with England, said recently that long careers were over. He cited two of his opening partners - Graham Gooch (20 years an England player) and Alec Stewart (14) - as having the sort of careers that wouldn't happen any more.
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