By Philip Henderson
June 2nd 2008 @ 7:10am
Super 14 tipping now live for sign-ups. Join now and invite your mates..
---------------
Stuart MacGill: stumps pulled on international career
Stuart MacGill has stunned the cricketing world by announcing his international retirement midway through the second Test against the West Indies in Antigua.
The Australian leg-spinner declared his 44th Test would also be his last on the morning of the third day at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, just months after undergoing wrist surgery in a bid to prolong his career.
The 37-year-old said the feeling he would let teammates down by continuing below his best, as well as sully his own impressive Test record, were key factors in the decision.
The shock announcement opens the door for young NSW left-arm spinner Beau Casson to possibly make his Test debut in the third Test against the West Indies in Barbados starting next week.
Allrounder Ashley Noffke may also come into consideration if selectors choose to rely on the part-time spin of Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke to complement a four-pronged pace attack.
MacGill’s decision will also heighten speculation Shane Warne could make a shock international comeback with Australia’s spinning stocks particularly thin.
Warne, who took 708 Test wickets before retiring early last year, suggested last month he would consider a Test return for next year’s Ashes series if MacGill was unavailable and if he was approached by captain Ricky Ponting.
The 38-year-old has just led his Indian Premier League side the Rajasthan Royals to the inaugural title in the Twenty20 competition after victory in the final against Chennai today.
Warne’s retirement was expected to give MacGill the opportunity to be Australia’s No.1 spinner for the final few years of his career, but injuries unfortunately intervened.
The New South Welshman claimed his 200th Test wicket against Sri Lanka early last summer.
But after struggling with injury during that two-Test series, he decided to rule himself out of the following Indian Test series and undergo surgery to correct carpal-tunnel syndrome in his wrist.
His return in the Caribbean has been well below his best, with MacGill flattered by his match figures of 4-143 in the first Test at Sabina Park.
He again bowled poorly late on day two in Antigua, taking 0-31 from seven overs.
“When I was injured at the start of last summer I spent a great deal of time thinking about what cricket meant to me,” MacGill said in a statement.
“Unfortunately now my time is up.
“One of the treats for a bowler playing Test cricket is that you have a champion bowling up the other end.
“Bowling with some of crickets all time greats such as Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee has made my job a lot easier.
“I want to be sure that exciting young bowlers like Mitchell Johnson enjoy the same privilege.
“As I said many times last summer, there is no way I will ever walk onto a cricket field unless I can guarantee that I can dismiss top order batsmen consistently.
“The prospect of letting myself and the team down is simply not an option. I have worked way too hard for too long to sabotage my achievements by playing Test cricket for the wrong reasons.”
Before the start of the third day of the Test in Antigua, MacGill had taken 207 wickets at an average of 28.28 and with a best bowling of 8-108.
He made his Test debut against South Africa in Adelaide during the 1998 season, but despite a superb record in Tests has largely lived in the shadow of Warne.
MacGill is yet to decide whether to continue playing domestically for NSW.
Cricket Australia said they would not be sending a player to replace MacGill in the squad.
FACTBOX ON STUART MACGILL
Born: Feb 25, 1971, Perth
Full name: Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill
Teams: Australia, Devon, NSW, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Western Australia
First-class debut: 1993/94
Test debut: Australia v South Africa, Adelaide, Jan 30-Feb 3, 1998
ODI debut: Australia v Pakistan, Sydney, Jan 19, 2000Test record (Before start of second Test v West Indies)
M Runs HS Avg Wkts Avg BB 5w/i 10w/m
43 349 43 9.69 207 28.28 8-108 12 2One Day International record
M Runs HS Avg Wkts Avg BB 4w/i 5w/i
3 1 1 1.00 6 17.50 4-19 1 0First-class record
M Runs HS Avg Wkts Avg BB 5w/i 10w/m
183 1536 57 9.90 773 30.29 8-108 43 6Where MacGill stands in Australia and International Test cricket
Most Wickets
Australia 12th. World 61st.Best strike-rate
Australia 15th.Best average (min 2000 balls)
Australia 44th.Fastest to:
50 wickets: Aust 7th. World 16th.
100 wickets: Aust 4th. World 20th.
150 wickets: Aust 4th. World 8th.
200 wickets: Aust 3rd. World 5th.
Super 14 tipping now live for sign-ups. Join now and invite your mates.
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...
(6)
Loading ...
Jameswm said | June 2nd 2008 @ 9:43am | Report comment
The thought of Warnie back for the Ashes tour - must be enough to have every Englishman sweating in his sleep.
I watched a bit of the test and Magilla was really bowling garbage. And Mitchell Johnson hasn’t done a heck of a lot either. For the 3rd test, we can drop both of them and bring in Casson and Dougie Bollinger. As good as Noffke is, Bolly will take more wickets.
The Cougar said | June 2nd 2008 @ 11:22am | Report comment
Finally! MacGill is a first-class tool. Never thought he was anywhere near being a good ambassador for Australia. Bring back Warney for the Ashes!
Jameswm said | June 2nd 2008 @ 3:30pm | Report comment
So let me get this straight, Cougar. You think MacGill was a poor ambassador for the country, but want to bring back Warnie?
GB said | June 2nd 2008 @ 4:32pm | Report comment
MacGills biggest problem was that he happened to be a world class leggie in his prime at the same time that the greatest leggie of all time (respect to Bill O’Reilly but no SW) was plying his trade. He proved he could bowl and take wickets but when he was ragged he was awful. I saw a couple of the pies he chucked down in the West Indies. You could tell it wasn’t happening for him and its doubtful he would have been picked for another test anyway. Best jump before pushed. He goes out on his terms. Just. As for bringing back Warnie for next years Ashes, why bother. Australia should have enough fire power to dispose of the Poms. They haven’t played as well since the 05 Ashes and cannot see them improving anytime soon. I mean, if you want to call on a guy nudging 40 who has already basically retired from cricket (except for a cameo in IPL) and bring him back for one last crack then pick me!
ren said | June 2nd 2008 @ 11:40pm | Report comment
cant say im sad to see him go. Australia will struggle to find another spinner of the class we’ve become used to.
Interestingly to note that MacGill and Casson are both West Australians who have left the state and Hogg is also from WA. If Casson is picked the last three Australian spinners will have been West Australian, surprising for a state reputed to be a pacemans paradise
Michael C said | June 3rd 2008 @ 10:31am | Report comment
ren -
traditionally the WACA also provided bounce - - a key weapon for a spinner.
Only problem being that many innings/games were effectively over before the spinner was required.