Arnold to retire

Sri Lankan batsman Russel Arnold will retire from international cricket after the World Cup final, it was announced today. The 33-year-old left-hander is likely to make his 180th ODI appearence on Saturday.

Samantha Algama, a Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman, told AFP: “Russel has informed his decision to team manager Michael Tissera in Jamaica and it has now been officially conveyed to the cricket board.”

Principally an opening batsman, Arnold has been mostly used as a ODI middle-order player by his country, with his right-arm finger-spin bowling adding a second string to his bow. In Tests he never really convinced, managing just 1821 runs in 44 matches at an average of 28.01. He made his debut against Pakistan at the Primadasa Stadium in 1996/97 and played his last Test against Australia at Marra Cricket Ground in Darwin in the Top End winter series in 2004. In ODIs he fared much better, however, scoring 3949 runs at 35.57 up to the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand.

Arnold will continue to play for Nondescripts Cricket Club, his Colombo-based domestic club.