Nick Knight Retires from One Day Cricket

[V Reddy]

Knight retires from one-day cricket


Coach Duncan Fletcher must rely on a new opener now
England opener Nick Knight has announced his retirement from one-day international cricket.
Knight, 33, had played in exactly 100 one-day matches for his country, averaging 40.41 and hitting five centuries along the way.

He had recently announced that he had been troubled by a persistent knee injury but was not expected to call it a day on one-day internationals.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," he said. "I was desperate to play in the World Cup having missed out on the last one, but I've got other challenges ahead of me.

"It's nice to spend some time at home and at Warwickshire.

"There is an incredible amount of talent in the game, it's four years before the next World Cup, I'm not going to make it, so it's a chance for other guys to make it."

Chairman of selectors David Graveney said: "I can understand Nick's reasoning but he's been a fantastic servant for one-day cricket.

Surprise

"It was a surprise, certainly, and I think Duncan [Fletcher, England coach] would feel the same way."

The loss of Knight in the one-day set-up creates another hole for England, who play matches against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and South Africa this summer.

Feature: Tense times ahead for England

They are yet to announce a new captain after Nasser Hussain quit the one-day scene to concentrate on Test cricket.

Alec Stewart, 40, is reluctant to carry on as wicket-keeper batsman and Andy Caddick is only available for Test cricket now.

With Paul Collingwood and Craig White facing long-term injuries, England's one-day unit could be full of new faces this summer.

 

[Rik]

I'm very annoyed with this, he is only 33 and he and Trescothick had a very good partnership going. He also would still be the 1st choice to Trescothick. He's left England in rather a bad position with only Vaughan really to open the batting. Vaughan could be a success but he's only played 26 ODIs with little success to date. Not only that but he's also the favorite for the captaincy now that Hussain has retired. I really am against Vaughan becoming the ODI captain, not only because he has enough on his plate opening and trying to repay the selectors' continuing faith with him, but also he is innexperianced at this level and the selectors would look quite stupid if they appoint him captain and then he has a poor time with the bat and can no longer hold his place in the team. Remeber Vaughan has the proven record in Tests, not ODIs. I hope they give it to Hollioake, or Trescothick even though Knight was my favored captain.

 

[krkode]

man, this is bad...Caddick gone, now Knight.

And Knight is possibly one of England's best ODI batsmen :O

 

[Rik]

man, this is bad...Caddick gone, now Knight.

And Knight is possibly one of England's best ODI batsmen :O

Possibly? With an average of 40 from 100 matches he WAS the best.

Interisting fact that he played 100 matches and in each of those matches he batted

 

[PY]

Didn't he bat as opener or number 3 all the way through his career for England? :P Or am I completely wrong? Hmmmmm, someone can correct me I suspect. Bit of a shame for English cricket but in the end its his choice.

 

[Rik]

Didn't he bat as opener or number 3 all the way through his career for England? :P Or am I completely wrong? Hmmmmm, someone can correct me I suspect. Bit of a shame for English cricket but in the end its his choice.

Never batted below 3 if my memory serves me correctly. Therefor an average of 40 is superb.

 

[Langeveldt]

This is very bad for England, IMO he was the best ODI batsmen, and they will be left with a huge hole in both batting and bowling line ups...

Although this will give them a good oppetunity to blood some new players, and with a bit of luck they should really be performing by the 2007 world cup...

My replacement for Knight would be Nicky Peng

Replacement for Hussain would be Ian Bell

Replacement for Caddick would be Gough!

 

[Neil Pickup]

Peng's in a dismal trot atm.

And Troughton ought to be picked over Bell.

Trescothick
Vaughan
Troughton
Collingwood (if fit) else Bell (?)
Flintoff
Blackwell
*Hollioake
+Read
Giles
Gough
Anderson

 

[Cloete]

i agree with that squad. collingwood MUST be in the playing team. u english keep putting him down.... but he's awesome. he was the lone bat in the ODI's that stood up! also i think vaughan will perform in ODI's but the captaincy should be hollioake's who should be given another chance. i mean he never did n e thing wrong!!

 

[Rik]

Peng's in a dismal trot atm.

Yes 92 off 94 balls really is rubbish isn't it? :rolleyes:

In 4D he just keeps getting out but he's been in good OD form for a while whilst opening the innings. He had a poor season in every respect last season but he showed in 2001 that he has the talent. 679 runs at 39.94 with 3 100s is testimony. Just about every other opener in the country, Vaughan included, have done well in FC cricket but not OD cricket. Why not try the speciallist?

 

[Tim]

Well this came as a bigger shock than Shayne O'Connors retirement. O'Connors retirement was on the cards because of continous injuries but Knight's has just come totally out of the blue & will leave a big hole at the top of the order for England.

On another note, NZ are also having the problem of having batsmen score plenty of runs at 4d level but not in the OD's. This probably reflects where we stand on the Test & ODI tables aswell.

 

[Kiwi]

I think that Trescothick will be captain because he was back-up to hussan(I think, maybe he wasn't).

I have heard alot of Ian Bell and think he sounds a great option. But then I have never seen him play.

 

[lord_of_darkness]

i loved watching him when he got going in the ods i reckon he was a really good player for england , awesome opener to watch i must say , when he and tres got going it was good to watch

most recently the VB series !!

sad to hear hes leaving ... big loss again for england

 

[marc71178]

Yes 92 off 94 balls really is rubbish isn't it? :rolleyes:

Swallow <> Summer

 

[Rik]

Swallow <> Summer

Considering Neil said that Peng was in poor form after he had scored that 92 I was just showing it was an ill-placed comment.

 

[Rik]

I think that Trescothick will be captain because he was back-up to hussan(I think, maybe he wasn't).

I have heard alot of Ian Bell and think he sounds a great option. But then I have never seen him play.

Nah there are some very strong rumours saying Vaughan will get the job, most originating from the ECB.

Also on Bell...still not scoring well Troughton is a better bet at this stage

 

[Eclipse]

This means England only really have one Good ODI batsman in Tresco and he is not very consistent.

I think it's mad to give Vaughan the ODI captaincy up untill now he just has not looked like a good One day batsman and England cant afford him to flop in ODI's. Add to that he is a shocking feilder apparently capable of doing the odd good thing but I am yet to see any of that. IMO a captain needs to lead from the front & set a good example in the feild so Vaughan will really have to work on that area of his game.

The ECB is basing there decision if they give it to him on test form alone and just hoping he will carry that into the One dayers at some stage but IMO thats probably not a wise move.

It seems like the ECB are overlooking some blatently obviouse recuirments that a captain should have.

On the positive side for England I think Troughton is a good prospect and Collingwood has really impressed me as has Anderson.

 

[Rik]

This means England only really have one Good ODI batsman in Tresco and he is not very consistent.

I think it's mad to give Vaughan the ODI captaincy up untill now he just has not looked like a good One day batsman and England cant afford him to flop in ODI's. Add to that he is a shocking feilder apparently capable of doing the odd good thing but I am yet to see any of that. IMO a captain needs to lead from the front & set a good example in the feild so Vaughan will really have to work on that area of his game.

The ECB is basing there decision if they give it to him on test form alone and just hoping he will carry that into the One dayers at some stage but IMO thats probably not a wise move.

It seems like the ECB are overlooking some blatently obviouse recuirments that a captain should have.

On the positive side for England I think Troughton is a good prospect and Collingwood has really impressed me as has Anderson.

He's just got it :O :O :O :O

(Shame he basically copied what I wrote earlier )

 

[Eclipse]

It's a risky decision IMO having said that I think Vaughan has the ticker to handle the pressure I just hope his game holds up he & will need to improve in some vital areas.

 

[Rik]

It's a risky decision IMO having said that I think Vaughan has the ticker to handle the pressure I just hope his game holds up he & will need to improve in some vital areas.

Very true. I also think it's a risky decision because Vaughan has only really shined in Tests and if he doesn't bat well and seems to be holding the team back then the selectors will end up with egg on their faces. Hollioake hasn't been given any chance to show he could contribute to the side although I wish he had been instead of Irani who was in appauling form in the VB Series. I heard somewhere that he and Nasser don't get one, so what, if he's a good player you play him. Why be so petty? I saw the continuing selection of Nasser's county mate Irani as a way of saying to Hollioake not to even bother. I think the only sensible choice is Trescothick although his tactics (most notibly in the Natwest Final last yer) were awry. I'd still go for Hollioake though.