Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

News just broke on SSN, not sure what to say, really. Effective immediate.

Woah. That 2011 side is thinning everyday.

Be weird to see next summer how much the Indian and England sides have changed since the 4-0.

Not playing Boxing day even, all a bit sudden. Wonder if something happened behind the scenes.

I knew he landed himself in trouble for a "crass" comment recently and his form in Oz was patchy at best but this is surprising

Retired just before his average went above 30 ( 29.96 )

Do you think he was dropped and jumped ship?

Suppose we'll all wait till the morning and his Sun exclusive article.

ddb wrote:Do you think he was dropped and jumped ship?

Suppose we'll all wait till the morning and his Sun exclusive article.

That was my first thought, his elbow is probably a factor too.

This feels like a Diana moment for England cricket fans. It's a shock, and a disappointing end, for one of the best bowlers to play for England since I started watching, and almost certainly the best spinner (and a handy second/slip, lower order batter).

It feels all wrong. Not least that he retired at midnight. Like the death of Caesar, it's the wrong time for a eulogy (!). A key player in a great period for England. A spinner who helped revitalise the role of the orthodox finger spinner (and seems to be influential in that respect) I'll never see him hit that 80 ball Test ton that I thought was in him.

A craftsman, and a great worker out of batters. Absolutely irreplacable. Even slightly underrated by the UK press. The late flowering Swann gave hope to county players for whom the call refused to come, and who absolutely made the most of his delayed chance in international cricket. In all formats. And a personality, that it was always a pleasure to hear from, who never took for granted his sporting fortune.

Things will feel very different without him.

wow - didn't see that coming at all! Guess Monty will be playing the last 2 tests.

Does seem very odd, there must be a back story to this - can't believe that it is about the 'crass' comment though - it must run deeper than that

Well, I must admit I didn't see that one coming.

Huge blow to English cricket.

Can't believe there isn't a heck of a lot more to this than meets the eye.

Still, hats off to the best English spinner in decades.

The cynic in me says he was thinking about it for some time, but due to his recent comments which were injudicious to say the least, he was asked to retire with immediate effect. Something isn't right. It doesn't matter what the score-line, you don't just up and decide to quit even if a series is lost. Hardly shows a team player.

That being said, he has been a tremendous bowler for England and he will be sorely missed. He has been on the decline for a while, so no doubting he was contemplating his future. He isn't getting any younger, so whilst the retirement news is hardly surprising; mid-series although already lost, is strange for me.

Red Devil wrote:wow - didn't see that coming at all! Guess Monty will be playing the last 2 tests.

Does seem very odd, there must be a back story to this - can't believe that it is about the 'crass' comment though - it must run deeper than that

tbf Cricketers have said or done worse in the past and managed to ride the storm. Is it possibly a plan by selectors to try and start bleeding a new spinner through with Monty as a stop gap?

going to be very difficult to replace him

monty probably has 2 or 3 years left in him, but i dont really see any other options, as kerrigan had a shocker and briggs doesnt turn the ball enough

this england team is really coming apart at the seams at the moment

Very surprised it's all cricket he's retiring from, didn't think he'd last much longer for Tests but a bit surprised he announced it mid-series. I suppose it makes sense though - no point in Swann playing 2 dead rubbers. Might as well give Monty/another spinner a go as they'll be the lead spinner next year.

Not sure he has been declining. Look at his record for last summer, against NZ and Australia. He seemed to recover from his operation well, though I would expect to hear his elbow is bothering him again, as his revs seemed to drop over the home summer. I can't imagine his recent comments have had an impact; and if they have, it would be because he was ready to go anyway.

I suspect it's his injury, though exacerbated by the drag of touring, which means he can't face finishing the tour.

Thought he might stay for the T20/ODI World Cups but obviously he's had enough.

Also, what a turnaround it's been for Monty. A few months ago, it was unlikely that he'd play for England again, now he's the number 1 spinner.