34
GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday January 16, 2015
Australia’s Brett Lee announces retirement AUSTRALIA great Brett Lee has announced his retirement and named the 2005 Ashes series as his favourite memory in a 20year career. Lee, 38, will send down his final ball in the Big Bash League this month, either in Sydney Sixers’ final group game on Thursday or later if they reach the knockouts. Lee, one of the fastest bowlers of the modern era, is Australia’s joint highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals, joining Glenn McGrath on 380 scalps and he also picked up 310 wickets in 76 Tests. “I’m not Benjamin Button ... I’m finally calling stumps on my career,” he joked. “I’m excited and emotional, certainly happy that I’ve made the right decision. I knew
before this season it was going to be my last season and I think I’ve had more fun in the last six weeks than I have in the rest of my career. “I didn’t bother doing the maths but 20 years is a lot of ice baths, a lot of training sessions, a lot of balls bowled and a lot of flights. But it’s given me so many great memories.” Asked for his favourite moment, Lee was quick to recall the unforgettable series against England 10 years ago. Australia may have lost the contest, an unusual event at the time, but it remains the peak of his time in a Baggy Green. “My favourite Test series has got to be the Ashes ‘05,” he said. “What that did for cricket and for the people involved was incredible. Bat
sales were up 68 per cent after that series I’ve been told. Even though we lost, the spirit in which it was played ... I never played another series that tough. “I had Flintoff running in at 95mph and two minutes later, after they won we had a cold beer, a chat and a laugh. That’s what sport is about.” Although the Big Bash and Indian Premier League offer veteran cricketers the chance to extend their career well past their prime - with Lee himself having been tempted out of an earlier retirement by the Twenty20 riches - he insists he is now finished for good. “Yeah, I’ve had more comebacks than Rambo ... but there won’t be any comebacks after this.”
World Cup Vignettes Winston’s day out By Dileep Premachandran WHEN Winston Davis stepped into the World Cup limelight in 1983, he was the one anonymous link in an otherwise legendary bowling line-up. West Indies had been shocked in their opening encounter by India, and Davis was one of the new faces to come in for the next game, against an Australian side that had suffered similar embarrassment against the new boys from Zimbabwe. In his only previous oneday appearance, Davis had taken 1 for 40 in a losing cause in Berbice, as Kapil Dev’s Indians hinted at what was to come in the month of June. But given his chance on a tricky Headingley pitch, he came up with the sort of performance that most tyros can only dream about. West Indies had posted a competitive 252 in a match that crossed over into a second day because of inclement weather, and Australia’s response started badly when Graeme Wood went to hospital with concussion due to a Michael Holding bouncer. Andy Roberts cleaned up Kepler Wessels soon after, but Australia had started to fight back by the time Davis was introduced. His first wicket was a prized one, Kim Hughes, and
though David Hookes and Graham Yallop added a brisk 59, it was Davis who had the last word. He dismissed both in quick succession, and added four more to end the innings as Australia finished 101 short. Coming from a backup bowler, it was a quite astonishing spell. Ultimately, though, it was to be a lone swallow of sum-
mer in a career that never again scaled such heights. In four further outings in the group stages, Davis had 1 for 155 from 44 overs, tidy but hardly enough to keep out the likes of Malcolm Marshall. An accident in 1998 left him paralysed, but along with the likes of Gary Gilmour and John Davison he has a corner all to himself in the World Cup Hall of Fame.
American Racing Tips Aqueduct Race 1 Tizthefastlaine Race 2 Qui C’est Moi Race 3 Theresas Candyrose Race 4 Charming Eyes Race 5 All is Number Race 6 Love to Run Race 7 Village Warrior Race 8 Overprepared Race 9 Swakopmund
11:20 hrs Full Jack 11:50 hrs Catchjing Shadows
South Africa Racing Tips Fairview 08:10 hrs Cheeky Question 08:45 hrs Zoo Biscuit 09:25 hrs Glittering Jet 10:00 hrs Goldandsilver 10:45 hrs Five Moons 11:10 hrs Scuzami
Wolverhampton 12:15 hrs Little Choosey 12:45 hrs Steve Rogers 13:15 hrs Solar Deity 13:45 hrs Spirit Of Gondree 14:15 hrs Kaufmann 14:45 hrs Symbolic Star
English Racing Tips Musselburgh 12:40 hrs Trouble In Paris 09:10 hrs Aristo Du Plessis 09:40 hrs Thankyou Very Much 10:10 hrs Teo Vivo 10:45 hrs Quito Du Tresor
Lingfield 08:50 hrs Tavener 09:20 hrs Sabre Rock 09:50 hrs Precision Five 10:25 hrs Pearl Ransom 11:30 hrs Pearl Blue 12:00 hrs Mighty Mambo
Irish Racing Tips Dundalk 14:05 hrs Your Pal Tal 14:35 hrs Arterial 15:05 hrs Elusive In Paris 15:35 hrs Arif 16:05 hrs Basilica 16:35 hrs House Limit 17:05 hrs Viaduct Joey