Emotional Hick bids farewell

Graeme Hick struggled to hold back the tears after admitting “my time is up” as he announced his retirement from county cricket after 25 seasons with Worcestershire.

The 42-year-old has decided to end his playing career at the end of the current campaign - he currently boasts 136 first-class centuries and 41,112 first-class runs in addition to a prolific record in one-day cricket.

The former England batsman said: “I felt it was right to finish. I had a feeling at the start of the year that it was going to be my last year.

“I just wanted to wait until a bit later in the year just to make sure it was the right decision. I think there are guys in the dressing room who need to start playing first-team cricket and my time is up.

“A few weeks ago I was sitting at Cheltenham during the four-day game and I felt it was time to go.”

But Hick insisted: “It is not a physical thing, (although) I have got this problem with my elbow at the moment which has come on from the keyhole surgery I had early in the season.

“Surprisingly, after the back injuries in the mid-1990s, in the last few years I’ve felt better than during that period. I don’t why. Maybe the body got hardened to it more and I’ve trained a lot over the years.

Former England batsman Graeme Hick knew a few weeks ago that it was nearly time to call it a day

“It is not a physical choice at the moment but, from how my body feels, it will have been harder to get through a full season next year and I felt I wouldn’t want to start the year and pack up halfway through the season.

“I felt it was the right time. It was an emotional decision.”

As for the future, Hick added: “I’ve had my first job offer today - someone asked me if I wanted to play Minor Counties cricket next season. I wasn’t sure if they were being serious. I chuckled and moved on.”

When asked what Worcestershire had meant to him, an increasingly emotional Hick said: “I can’t put that into words now.”

He was clearly close to tears as he left the media conference and headed straight to his car to depart New Road.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes has admitted Hick’s will be “a tremendous loss” for the county.

Rhodes, who played alongside Hick for nearly two decades, said: “Hicky will be a tremendous loss to us - not only with his batting abilities but also his presence in the dressing room.

“He has that experience that he gives out, has a cool head on things when we are scratching our own heads a bit.

“There is always a player like Graeme to call upon to give an opinion and we will miss all that but he is his own person and has not taken this decision lightly. It has been a tough decision for him.

“My playing days have been at the same time as Graeme and it has been a pleasure to play alongside him as well as working with him as coach as well.

“During that period he has been the best player to have played county cricket and I’ve been lucky to watch and play with him when he has made many of his hundreds.”