Giles forced to retire

Ashley Giles © Getty Images

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The England and Wales Cricket Board has been informed by Ashley Giles that he has been forced to retire from cricket with immediate effect after advice from his specialist.

Giles played 54 Tests and appeared in 62 one-day internationals for England.

He took 143 Test wickets with his left arm spin. His Test debut was against South Africa at Old Trafford in 1998 and his final Test match was against Australia in Adelaide in December 2006.

Giles also served Warwickshire with distinction playing 178 County Championship matches for the county during a carer which began in 1993. He was also a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2005.

Giles said: "Following guidance from my hip surgeon, Dr Marc Philippon, I am very sorry to announce that I am retiring from all forms of cricket with immediate effect.

"I had hoped to make a full recovery and return to playing over the next few months but the advice I have received means that there is no chance of me returning to cricket at any level.

"I would have liked to have left cricket at the very top still playing the game that I have always loved and whether it be on the village green or Test arena.

Giles played a crucial role against Australia in 2005 © Getty Images

"But I have no regrets. I will always have great memories of being part of a fantastic Warwickshire and England dressing room.

"I feel lucky to have travelled the world playing a game with my mates and hugely privileged to have played alongside and against some of the greatest cricketers to grace the game.

"It has been a huge honour to play for my country and to play a part in one of the most successful periods in its cricketing history.

"I dreamt of playing cricket for England and winning the Ashes as a child and so to be part of that magical summer of 2005 was truly a dream realised.

"I have to thank everyone who helped me get to that last day at the Oval against Australia two years ago. I’m most grateful to Warwickshire and England for giving me the opportunities at the highest level and also my earliest coaches, my captains, my team mates and most importantly my family. Mum and Dad made me who I am and Stine, Anders and Tilly who have kept me that way.

"I’ve enjoyed many battles during my 16 years as a professional cricketer both on and off the field. Cricket has been my job, my joy, my life. Looking back I feel so lucky to have been just a tiny part of cricket’s glorious history. We must cherish the game and respect it at all levels.

"I have always tried to do so both on and off the field. I hope I have been good to the game because it has been very good to me.

"I finish by thanking Warwickshire and the ECB for giving me such great support during difficult periods of injury and rehabilitation. I wish both teams great success in the coming years.’

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, said: "Ashley's retirement is very sad news and everyone in the England dressing room will miss his professionalism and, of course, his sense of humour.

"In my view, Ashley has to be one of the most underrated cricketers ever to pull on an England shirt. He was a key member of the England Test side which won six successive Test series and I know how much his teammates valued his contributions to our success.

Mark Nicholas chats to Ashley Giles on Thursday

"What also stands out for me is his strength of character. He went through difficult periods earlier in his career where he had long term injuries but his determination to recover from them and regain his international place is an object lesson not just to other cricketers but to any professional sportsman.

David Collier, the ECB chief executive, added: "‘Ashley has played a significant role in one of the most successful periods in England cricket and this is a sad day for cricket in England and Wales.

"He established himself in the side during the series victory in Pakistan in 2000 which was viewed by everyone as the launchpad for so much of what England have achieved subsequently.

"Few will forget his contribution throughout the npower Ashes series and especially on the final day of the final Ashes Test at The Brit Oval when he recorded his highest test innings – 59 – which ensured England won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

"One of the less public but equally iconic images of that Ashes success was the wonderful pictures of Ashley’s children playing in a room at a sunlit Buckingham Palace on the February day that the players received their MBE’s and their father chatted to the Queen.

"We all wish Ashley and his family well in the future and thank him for everything he has done for cricket in England and Wales."