MacGill announces Test retirement
Australia leg-spinner Stuart MacGill`s surprise retirement was an appropriate end to a career in which he always spoke his mind and rarely conformed.
"I guess I have been fighting it for a while because I don`t want to retire I haven`t achieved everything I wanted to achieve," he told a news conference after the third day of the second Test against West Indies.
"When you play for your country you have a huge responsibility not only to yourself but to the guy at the other end and I couldn`t live myself if I thought that I had let someone down in that respect," added MacGill.
MacGill, who at 37 had worked his way back from fitness problems including a wrist operation to make the tour party, realised during the first Test win in Jamaica that something was wrong with his bowling.
"In the first Test I just started to notice that apart from the fact that I wasn`t bowling as I would have liked, things weren`t working the way they are supposed to work," he said. MacGill, a wine buff and prolific novel reader, defended his right to be different in a sporting culture that often encourages uniformity.
"It is a team sport and some people are still of the opinion that all cricketers should be the same. I will argue till I am blue in the face, not just for my own sake but for the sake of all young cricketers coming through who are a bit different, `who am I to tell you what sort of music you should listen to?`
"If you like a glass of red rather than an icy cold beer, good on you. It doesn`t matter, so long as you step across the line and make a contribution and don`t get in the way of anyone else," he said.
Individual Character
The frankness was typical of a man who, whether it be refusing to tour Zimbabwe or speaking his mind about former coach John Buchanan`s methods, was not prepared to let the need for team spirit suppress his individual character.
"I say the first thing that pops into my head, not always the smartest thing to do but I am pretty open, people generally know when I am unhappy with them," he said.
MacGill spent most of his career in the shadow of fellow leg-spinner Shane Warne, who retired last year, but still took wickets at an impressive rate when the chance came along, picking up 207 victims in 43 Tests before the current one.
When Warne was banned for using illegal substances in 2003-04, MacGill showed his quality by taking an impressive 53 wickets in 11 Tests.
In another era, MacGill would have been first-choice spinner and played many more Tests but he does not regret playing at the same time as the most successful leg-spinner of all time.
"I regret the fact that I am not playing on but part of my retirement is to do with the pleasure I have derived from my achievements," he said.
"I am proud of myself and I don`t want to play any longer because I don`t want to take the shine off it. I have a lot of good memories, I`d hate to chuck in another bad one.