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Caddick set to bow out

Author: Sir David Smith
Date: 09/08/2009

Former England pace ace Andrew Caddick will bow out of first-class cricket at the end of the season, having played on at Somerset past his 40th birthday.

The giant seamer has taken 1,178 wickets to date, while his international career spanned 62 Test matches and 54 one-day internationals.

Caddick took 234 wickets in his 62 Tests at a more than respectable average of 29.91 and is undoubtedly one of England's finest fast bowlers of the last 15 years.

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Almost unplayable at times, Caddick could also be ineffectual on occasions and despite his quiet demeanour, he had a reputation as being a tricky man to read.

He hinted at that when announcing his retirement, speaking of his mixed treatment at the hands of the England selectors and management.

The New Zealand-born paceman started and finished his Test career against Australia, starting out in the 1993 home Ashes series.

He soon showed his undoubted ability with 18 wickets in four Test matches in the West Indies, taking five wickets in an innings on two occasions, but he then missed more than two years of international cricket due to shoulder and shin problems.

He showed that he was back at his best in the 1997 Ashes series on home soil, taking 24 wickets in five matches, with a five-wicket haul at The Oval sealing a 19-run victory as Australia were bowled out for 104.

However, the next two years would see Caddick in and out of the England side on a number of occasions, before coach Duncan Fletcher and skipper Nasser Hussain joined forces an began to show total faith in the paceman.

He impressed in the home series against the West Indies in 2000, snapping up 22 wickets in five Test at an average of less than 20, but a year further on he struggled against Australia as England suffered yet another Ashes nightmare.

Caddick took 19 wickets in three matches in his native New Zealand the following winter, but unknown to the player the end of his Test career was not far around the corner.

He would bow out against Australia before injuries started to take their toll and his Test days would end on a deserved high note.

The series had already been lost by the time of the fifth Test in Sydney, but Caddick put in a matchwinning display, starting by taking 3-121 in the home side's first innings.

Then, after England had set Australia a massive victory target of 452, Caddick tore through the Baggy Greens batting to record superb figures of 7-94 from 22 overs and help secure a 225-run win.

That ensured that Caddick finally registered a ten-wicket match haul in the Test arena, before being forced to retreat back to the county circuit.

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