Ryan Sidebottom: Yorkshire's ex-England seamer to retire at end of the season - BBC Sport
Yorkshire's ex-England seam bowler Ryan Sidebottom announces he will retire at the end of the County Championship season.
Last updated on .From the section Cricket

Yorkshire seamer Ryan Sidebottom has announced he will retire at the end of the forthcoming county season.

The 39-year-old left-armer played 22 Tests for England, also winning the ICC World Twenty20 title with them in 2010.

He also won five County Championship titles, three with his native Yorkshire and two with Nottinghamshire.

"There's a tear in my eye whenever I think about not playing professional cricket again - a game that's given me so much over the years," he said.

Sidebottom, whose father Arnie also played for Yorkshire and won one Test cap in 1985, has taken 1,028 wickets in all competitions, including 737 in first-class cricket.

Born in Huddersfield, he began and will end his career at Yorkshire, either side of a spell at Nottinghamshire between 2004 and 2010.

"I've always tried to play with a smile on my face and give 110% because I absolutely love this sport," he continued.

"It's been an honour to represent my home county, Yorkshire, play for my country and help make history at Nottinghamshire.

"I couldn't have asked for better team-mates and they've helped me become the cricketer I am today."

After making a wicketless Test debut against Pakistan at Lord's in 2001, Sidebottom had to wait six years for a second chance.

His most successful series came in New Zealand in 2008, when his left-arm swing bowling captured 24 wickets at an average of 17.08 - including a hat-trick in the first Test at Hamilton - in a 2-1 England victory.

He never played against Australia during his Test career, but took 2-26 against them in the 2010 World T20 final as Paul Collingwood's side became the first - and so far only - England team to win a global International Cricket Council limited-overs tournament.

He retired from international cricket later that year.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire pair Liam Plunkett and Alex Lees have been added to the MCC team for the champion county match against Middlesex, starting in Abu Dhabi on 26 March.

Plunkett replaces injured team-mate Matt Fisher, while Lees comes in for England opener Haseeb Hameed, who has withdrawn from the squad to undergo sinus surgery.