Paul Nixon retiring
- Thread starter glyn
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glyn
Well-Known Member
Confusingly, this suggests he wouldn't even play in Finals Day if we make it 
Source: http://blog.thecricketer.com/?p=28895&WLPageID=1407
Source: http://blog.thecricketer.com/?p=28895&WLPageID=1407
Redditch Fox
Well-Known Member
Good - I must say that I took his statement to refer to his last competitive appearance.....at Grace Road.
glyn
Well-Known Member
Agreed, it was the Cricketer article above that confused me.
Redditch Fox
Well-Known Member
The BBC sports teletext item was equally misleading.
My understanding is that he might also appear in the t20 against India nevermind hypothetically in the t20 Finals day.
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/sport/...-nixon-still-has-unfinished-business-1.863925
RETIRING CUMBRIAN CRICKET STAR PAUL NIXON STILL HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The moment of cold revelation that stalks all sportsmen came to Paul Nixon a few hours after he was participating in his favourite activity: lurking close to a batsman, trying to drip doubt into his brain.
It was not from his familiar station of wicketkeeper but another close fielding position, short-leg, that Cumbria’s most illustrious cricketer began to accept that his time in the flannelled game was almost done.
“It was a four-day game against Derbyshire, not long after I had come back from a knee operation, and nobody fancied going in to short-leg,†says Nixon, whose announcement of his impending retirement yesterday provoked messages of admiration and regret from all corners of his sport.
“So I put my hand up and did it. I probably shouldn’t have done, but I fancied the challenge and it’s a job, after all.
“The next day it really hurt. Since then, the knee has been niggling all the time – and not just the knee. My calves have got tight and my body was starting to tell me it wasn’t going to let me do what I wanted any more.â€
Those who have trailed Nixon’s career ever since he first tugged on his whites for Leicestershire in 1989 may not be surprised at the circumstances of his decline: accepting with enthusiasm a challenge that cowed younger team-mates, relishing every second spent in dangerous, helmeted proximity to a rival player, and suffering royally for it as a result.
It is this appetite for a place at the tough heart of a contest that is now reflected in the end-of-career statistics which Nixon, 40, will carry into his reluctant retirement. From his 22 first-class years he has amassed 14,498 runs, including 21 centuries and 72 fifties, while collecting 889 catches and making 67 stumpings. His formidable One-Day record includes the remarkable feat of never missing a Twenty20 fixture for Leicestershire, a sequence that will continue on Saturday in a quarter-final clash against his former club, Kent.
These are the figures of a serious player, unquestionably the finest that this county has dispatched into the summer game, and numbers which his famous idiosyncrasies – the reverse-sweeping, the chatterbox sledging – ought not to obscure.
If Nixon did not quite climb to the peak of an England Test cap – thwarted, in the main, by the iconic pair of Jack Russell and Alec Stewart – the memory of his late-career flowering in his country’s One-Day colours, during a memorable series win in Australia and then the 2007 World Cup, allows him to settle into retirement in the happy knowledge that he was an international cricketer as well as a high-achieving county star.
A gym bunny from his teenage years, no one toiled harder for the honour. And Leicestershire’s County Championships in 1996 and 1998, along with their Twenty20 Cup triumphs in 2004 and 2006, owed considerably to the energy and professionalism of the balding Cumbrian farmer’s son with the gloves. The tribute paid during his brief Kent days by a team-mate, a certain Steve Waugh, was telling, and perhaps – until recently – the greatest a cricketer could give: “Nico should have been born an Australian.â€
The winding byways of Nixon’s journey, from junior Langwathby farmhand to sporting star, hurled up many such bouquets. Yesterday’s announcement prompted references in print and on air to his most distinctive moments: nervelessly pinging Muttiah Muralitharan over the ropes during the ‘07 World Cup; bantering the Aussies to death as England rose from Ashes villains to one-day winners a few months before; carving matchwinning runs for Leicestershire during their years of achievement; and celebrating with the same energies he took onto the short grass, into practice and into the modern, career-prolonging concepts of Bikram yoga and protein shakes, of which Nixon became a thirsty devotee.
Looking back seems an alien state for such a man, but Nixon now stands in contemplation of a full sporting life almost completed. He will doubtless be invited to dwell on his eventful past as his portfolio of media work expands, while his experiences will need to be trawled deeply in order to maximise his value as a coach. An autobiography is also in the offing.
In the short aftermath of his retirement decision, the briefest glance back at his time in the middle draws some instant reflections. “By the time I’ve played my last game, there will be a few sombre thoughts and then it will be time to start thinking about the next chapter,†he says.
“It has been a special journey and I have loved every minute. I’ve won some trophies and played for my country, which was my goal when I started out, going back to my time at Ullswater High School.
“The highlight? That has to be walking out for England for the first time, at Sydney [for a Twenty20 international]. That was awesome. Winning County Championships and Twenty20 Cups was special, and so was the success of my benefit year in 2007.
“The early days, from playing for Edenhall in the Cumbria Senior League, are all still very clear in my mind. That helped shape me for the future. Cricket has given me so much in life. It’s a game that helps open doors and I owe the game a great deal.â€
Twenty20, the fashionable format which Nixon embraced, offers him a tantalising swansong in the coming days: victory in this Saturday’s quarter-final will take him to finals day at Edgbaston, and the possibility of lowering his curtain as a winner, again. “That would be the fairytale,†says the man who debuted for England after conquering dyslexia in his late thirties. “And I like fairytales.â€
The soreness that would follow such a finale would be a price worth paying. “Even in a 20-over game, the physical intensity is getting too much,†he says. “I’m going out to play with painkillers.
“There is some exciting young talent coming through at Leicestershire, and it’s their time now. I would love to play a part in helping them. I’ve spoken to the club about that, and they are going to come back to me.â€
His last professional appearance will be a T20 thrash against the vaunted, touring India team on August 29, at which point this relentless doyen of the crease will finally wipe his brow and lift his burning limbs off the treadmill.
“After nets the other day I was doing some running, and something came to me,†he says. “I remembered my old team-mates like James Whitaker, Peter Willey and Nigel Briers – how they were at the end of their careers, not being able to run like they used to.
“I laughed to myself and thought, ‘Nixon, you are there now.’â€
RETIRING CUMBRIAN CRICKET STAR PAUL NIXON STILL HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The moment of cold revelation that stalks all sportsmen came to Paul Nixon a few hours after he was participating in his favourite activity: lurking close to a batsman, trying to drip doubt into his brain.
It was not from his familiar station of wicketkeeper but another close fielding position, short-leg, that Cumbria’s most illustrious cricketer began to accept that his time in the flannelled game was almost done.
“It was a four-day game against Derbyshire, not long after I had come back from a knee operation, and nobody fancied going in to short-leg,†says Nixon, whose announcement of his impending retirement yesterday provoked messages of admiration and regret from all corners of his sport.
“So I put my hand up and did it. I probably shouldn’t have done, but I fancied the challenge and it’s a job, after all.
“The next day it really hurt. Since then, the knee has been niggling all the time – and not just the knee. My calves have got tight and my body was starting to tell me it wasn’t going to let me do what I wanted any more.â€
Those who have trailed Nixon’s career ever since he first tugged on his whites for Leicestershire in 1989 may not be surprised at the circumstances of his decline: accepting with enthusiasm a challenge that cowed younger team-mates, relishing every second spent in dangerous, helmeted proximity to a rival player, and suffering royally for it as a result.
It is this appetite for a place at the tough heart of a contest that is now reflected in the end-of-career statistics which Nixon, 40, will carry into his reluctant retirement. From his 22 first-class years he has amassed 14,498 runs, including 21 centuries and 72 fifties, while collecting 889 catches and making 67 stumpings. His formidable One-Day record includes the remarkable feat of never missing a Twenty20 fixture for Leicestershire, a sequence that will continue on Saturday in a quarter-final clash against his former club, Kent.
These are the figures of a serious player, unquestionably the finest that this county has dispatched into the summer game, and numbers which his famous idiosyncrasies – the reverse-sweeping, the chatterbox sledging – ought not to obscure.
If Nixon did not quite climb to the peak of an England Test cap – thwarted, in the main, by the iconic pair of Jack Russell and Alec Stewart – the memory of his late-career flowering in his country’s One-Day colours, during a memorable series win in Australia and then the 2007 World Cup, allows him to settle into retirement in the happy knowledge that he was an international cricketer as well as a high-achieving county star.
A gym bunny from his teenage years, no one toiled harder for the honour. And Leicestershire’s County Championships in 1996 and 1998, along with their Twenty20 Cup triumphs in 2004 and 2006, owed considerably to the energy and professionalism of the balding Cumbrian farmer’s son with the gloves. The tribute paid during his brief Kent days by a team-mate, a certain Steve Waugh, was telling, and perhaps – until recently – the greatest a cricketer could give: “Nico should have been born an Australian.â€
The winding byways of Nixon’s journey, from junior Langwathby farmhand to sporting star, hurled up many such bouquets. Yesterday’s announcement prompted references in print and on air to his most distinctive moments: nervelessly pinging Muttiah Muralitharan over the ropes during the ‘07 World Cup; bantering the Aussies to death as England rose from Ashes villains to one-day winners a few months before; carving matchwinning runs for Leicestershire during their years of achievement; and celebrating with the same energies he took onto the short grass, into practice and into the modern, career-prolonging concepts of Bikram yoga and protein shakes, of which Nixon became a thirsty devotee.
Looking back seems an alien state for such a man, but Nixon now stands in contemplation of a full sporting life almost completed. He will doubtless be invited to dwell on his eventful past as his portfolio of media work expands, while his experiences will need to be trawled deeply in order to maximise his value as a coach. An autobiography is also in the offing.
In the short aftermath of his retirement decision, the briefest glance back at his time in the middle draws some instant reflections. “By the time I’ve played my last game, there will be a few sombre thoughts and then it will be time to start thinking about the next chapter,†he says.
“It has been a special journey and I have loved every minute. I’ve won some trophies and played for my country, which was my goal when I started out, going back to my time at Ullswater High School.
“The highlight? That has to be walking out for England for the first time, at Sydney [for a Twenty20 international]. That was awesome. Winning County Championships and Twenty20 Cups was special, and so was the success of my benefit year in 2007.
“The early days, from playing for Edenhall in the Cumbria Senior League, are all still very clear in my mind. That helped shape me for the future. Cricket has given me so much in life. It’s a game that helps open doors and I owe the game a great deal.â€
Twenty20, the fashionable format which Nixon embraced, offers him a tantalising swansong in the coming days: victory in this Saturday’s quarter-final will take him to finals day at Edgbaston, and the possibility of lowering his curtain as a winner, again. “That would be the fairytale,†says the man who debuted for England after conquering dyslexia in his late thirties. “And I like fairytales.â€
The soreness that would follow such a finale would be a price worth paying. “Even in a 20-over game, the physical intensity is getting too much,†he says. “I’m going out to play with painkillers.
“There is some exciting young talent coming through at Leicestershire, and it’s their time now. I would love to play a part in helping them. I’ve spoken to the club about that, and they are going to come back to me.â€
His last professional appearance will be a T20 thrash against the vaunted, touring India team on August 29, at which point this relentless doyen of the crease will finally wipe his brow and lift his burning limbs off the treadmill.
“After nets the other day I was doing some running, and something came to me,†he says. “I remembered my old team-mates like James Whitaker, Peter Willey and Nigel Briers – how they were at the end of their careers, not being able to run like they used to.
“I laughed to myself and thought, ‘Nixon, you are there now.’â€
glyn
Well-Known Member
I'm sure he'd be tempted by the Champions League if we make it too.
Ian Marshall
Member
The guy is an inspiration and has been one of my favourite cricketers for as long as I can remember.
As a keeper myself, I have to say, Nixon in my opinion has been one of the best on the circuit for years and years. I'd love to have one tenth of his ability.
Thanks for the service Nico - a true servant and a great, great player.
As a keeper myself, I have to say, Nixon in my opinion has been one of the best on the circuit for years and years. I'd love to have one tenth of his ability.
Thanks for the service Nico - a true servant and a great, great player.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
Really sad to see him go. I've grown up watching him. He was even playing when I went to my first match aged 6.
GazLCFC
Active Member
SSN running an interview with him today.
Profondo Rosso
Well-Known Member
I know, that's what prompted me to this thread. I hardly ever read the cricket board on here, even though I love the sport.
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