Daryl Tuffey Retires From Professional Cricket

Daryl Tuffey Retires From Professional Cricket

Daryl Tuffey played 123 times for New Zealand during an 11-year international career.

©REUTERS/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds. Picture Supplied by Action Images

Former New Zealand and Auckland fast-bowler Daryl Tuffey has announced his retirement from professional cricket at the age of 34. Tuffey has been plagued by injury in recent times resulting in him losing his New Zealand central contract in 2011. He played only one match for Auckland last season.

He said, "I've had a few different injuries recently and they do get tougher to come back from. It's probably been my one major regret in cricket that I haven't spent as much time on the field as I would have liked but it's part and parcel of playing the game. There aren't many people who get the chance to get paid for playing the game they love and I feel really lucky that I've been able to do that. It's been an honour to represent my country and to be able to do so in some great places around the world has been a bonus."

Paul Strang, the Auckland coach, said Tuffey would be missed. "Daryl will be a huge loss to us because he brings so much to the side," he said. "He's been fantastic for us, especially in the short form and contributes a lot both on and off the field."

Tuffey made his Test debut in 2000 against Australia and would go on to play a further 25 times, as well as playing 97 limited-overs matches for the Black Caps. His best performance with the ball came in the Test series against England in 2001-02 when he took six for 54 to help New Zealand tie the three-match series.

After that, he cemented his place in the New Zealand side, forming a useful new ball partnership with Shane Bond, before the first of his many injuries - a damaged shoulder in 2005 - struck him down. He remained on the fringes of the New Zealand set-up on his return but never reached the heights that he had done before becoming injured and threw in his lot with the Indian Cricket League in 2007. He did play international cricket again, but injuries continued to blight his progress and he played his last match for New Zealand in November 2010.

© Cricket World 2012