Ian Blackwell bids adieu to cricket
London, Mar 15 : Former England left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell today announced his retirement from cricket after being in the sidelines with a left shoulder problem.
The injury-prone tweaker, who scalped 24 wickets with an economy of only 4.27 was unfortunate to be injured during England's ignominious ODI winter of 2005-06 in Pakistan and India.
The 34-year-old Blackwell, however, averaged 39 with the bat and 35 with the ball in first-class cricket, making him arguably the best county all-rounder of the 2000s. His batting was always explosive, his slog-sweep against spin standing out. He scalped 398 first-class wickets.
Blackwell, however will not be missed from the cricketing field as he has already declared an ambition to train as an umpire.