Paul Nixon Hangs Up His Wicket-Keeping Gloves

Paul Nixon Hangs Up His Wicket-Keeping Gloves

Paul Nixon (left) has called time on his career

©Cricket World

Leicestershire's former England wicket-keeper Paul Nixon has announced his retirement from cricket and will play for the Foxes for last time at Grace Road in the Friends Life t20 quarter-final against his former club Kent on 6th August.

His decision to retire at the end of the season bring to an end a 24-year career, 21 of which he has spent with Leicestershire, wnning two County Championships and two Twenty20 Cups.

He has not missed a single competitive Twenty20 game for Leicestershire since 2003 and will finish his career with 294 first-class appearances behind him, in which he top scored with 173 not out against Kent at Canterbury.

He moved to Kent in 2000 before moving back to Leicestershire for the 2003 season and first played for England in 2007 when he was included in the One-Day International squad which won the ODI tri-series with Australia and New Zealand.

He then went on to play at the 2007 World Cup, memorably reverse-sweeping Muttiah Muralitharan for six in a crucial Super Eight encounter with Sri Lanka.

In all, he played 19 ODIs for his country, top scoring with 49 against New Zealand in Perth and he also played one Twenty20 International against Australia.

"I’ve had a very special journey over the years and I’ve always been thankful to Ken Higgs and Mike Turner for signing me for Leicestershire in 1988," Nixon said.

"The Leicester public has been absolutely phenomenal towards me and I want to thank them for all of their support. I want to thank them for all of the letters they’ve sent and all of the good luck messages as I’ve walked onto the pitch.

"I’ve had a great rapport with the Leicester public; they’ve been very kind and generous towards me and my family and I’ll always remember that. I look forward to meeting more people over the next few months and thanking them in person.

"My body knows now. I can’t do it the way I want to do it anymore; the way I’ve always done it."

"I can’t keep to those high standards anymore. All of my mentors said to me that you’ll know when the time is right and the time has come. I’ve thought about it for a few months now and am at ease with it. It’s time for the youngsters to have their journeys now.

"I’ve met some amazing people along the way and have some special memories. I’ve loved every ball on the pitch and every moment I’ve been involved in off the pitch too. It’s a very special life and I’ve made sure that I’ve never taken it for granted."

Nixon also captained Leicestershire between 2007 and 2008 and has played for the club in four decades, is their leading run-scorer in Twenty cricket and is the 23rd leading run-scorer in first-class cricket for the Foxes.

© Cricket World 2011