Zimbabwean spinner Ray Price retires

Ray Price decides to bid farewell to cricket

Left arm off-spinner Ray Price has decided to hang up his boots after India’s straightforward victory over Zimbabwe on Sunday.

Though the defeat for the hosts seemed almost certain in yesterday’s match, fans of Zimbabwean cricket will be further saddened with the retirement of one of their finest cricketers.

Price’s tenure in the national side was to originally last until the completion of the 5 match ODI series against India. However, after being kept out for the first three matches, the 37-year old decided to call it quits, just before the official termination of his contract.

When asked about his sudden declaration, Price was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo: “I was going to wait until my contract expired to call it a day but, yes, I’ve decided to retire from international cricket. I won’t be going with the guys to Bulawayo. I’m retired.”

Present Zimbabwean captain Brendan Taylor confirmed the news: “Pricey’s called it a day. If he was going to play, it was going to be here in Harare. We’re going to miss his experience. But in saying that, it does give our young spinners, who are coming through, a great opportunity.”

Price, who made an entrance into international cricket at the age of 23 against Sri Lanka back in 1999, went on to capture 80 wickets in 22 Test matches, 100 wickets in 102 ODI matches and also played 16 T20 matches for his country. The left-hander remained Zimbabwe’s senior most bowler for several years, and fought his final battle in the Bridgetown Test against West Indies in March this year.

“He’s a hell of a competitor. He’s a guy that plays with his heart on his sleeve. He leaves nothing out on the field, he’ll give you everything and he’s a real team man,” praised Taylor.

“Unfortunately, age is not on his side any more, and he’s moving on with his family. We’ll miss him, but I’m sure he’ll still be in the picture with our young spinners coming through, and I’m sure he’ll always be contributing somewhere along the line,” he concluded.