Ian Saxelby to retire from First Class Cricket
3 June 2014
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club today announced that Ian Saxelby has, unfortunately, been forced to retire from First Class Cricket following the knee injury he sustained whilst bowling in the LV= County Championship Match against Surrey at the Kia Oval on 11 May.
The surgery Ian recently had on the knee revealed the damage to be worse than initially hoped and this has meant that continuing his career in professional sport is no longer an option.
Gloucestershire’s Director of Cricket, John Bracewell, said:
“It is a great shame that Ian has been forced to retire from the game at such a young age due to injury. He has been the consummate professional and proved to be a bowler beyond his years.
“With a good repeatable action he hit the wicket hard with control and out swing. He led our attack from an early age and his calm demeanour around pressure situations meant he was a ‘go to guy’ in tough situations.
“He will be missed by the team and hard to replace.”
Commenting on his forced retirement, Ian Saxelby said:
"It is extremely disappointing that I am unable to continue along the path of professional cricket but unfortunately my body is forcing me to hang up my boots. After recovering from my shoulder surgery last season, I’m devastated by the seriousness of this recent career-ending injury. I feel that I have given everything to the sport and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I have spent in the game.
“I must thank everyone I have met along the way, in this country and abroad, for the support that has come my way and I am very grateful for the opportunities cricket has given me. Finally I must thank Gloucestershire CCC for the past 7 years, all the staff have been fantastic to work with and I wish the lads every success this season and in the coming years."
