Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, is to retire from all cricket after playing in the Champions League in October, he announced yesterday.
Ponting, who announced his retirement from international cricket in November last year, is currently playing for Surrey in England's County Championship. He will end a glittering career after featuring for the Mumbai Indians, his Indian Premier League franchise, in the Champions League.
"While I'm enjoying my cricket as much as ever, it just feels like the right time to finish playing," Ponting told a national newspaper, for which he is to write a regular column during the forthcoming England v Australia Ashes Test series. "My body and mind are in great shape and I know I'm going to enjoy these last few months before the next stage of life begins."
Ponting, who scored 13,378 runs in 168 Tests – it is the second highest haul in the history of the game – stood down as Australia captain in 2011 and retired from one-day cricket in February 2012 before calling time on his Test career nearly seven months ago.
Since then he has carried on playing, and helped Tasmania to win the Sheffield Shield, Australia's prestigious state competition, in March. "To win the Sheffield Shield with Tasmania in my last game in Australia, played at Blundstone Arena, will forever be a memory close to my heart," he said. "It's one of a lifetime of memories that will become even more special in retirement."
He will continue playing for Surrey until late July before heading to compete in the inaugural Caribbean Premier League with Antigua Hawksbills and then finishing off in the Champions League. He said he was considering a couple of cricket media opportunities as his next career move but was also relishing the prospect of doing more charity work.
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