Mascarenhas to quit county cricket

Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas has announced he is to retire from county cricket at the end of the season because of injury.

Mascarenhas has played for Hampshire for 18 years during which time he has picked up five domestic trophies.

First-class figures:

195 matches 450 wickets (average 28.22) Best bowling figures: 6-25 - Hants v Derbyshire, 2004 17 x five-wicket hauls 6,495 runs (average 25.07) Top score: 131 - Hants v Kent, 2006 Eight x 100s, 23 x 50s

Twenty20 stats:

121 matches 142 wickets (average 19.83) Best bowling figures: 5-14 - Hants v Sussex, 2004 Two five-wicket hauls, one four-wicket haul 1,313 runs (average 19.59) Top score: 57no - Otago v Canterbury, 2009 Three x 50s

List A (limited-overs):

261 matches 300 wickets (average 26.47) Best bowling figures: 5-27 - Hants v Gloucs, 2002 One five-wicket haul, nine four-wicket hauls 4,283 runs (average 24.90) Top score: 79 - Hants v Worcestershire, 1999 and Hants v Kent, 2004 27 x 50s The 35-year-old was also selected for England in 20 one-day internationals and 14 Twenty20 internationals.

"It's been the hardest decision of my life, I've been here for so long," Mascarenhas told BBC Radio Solent.

Born in London but raised in Australia, Mascarenhas returned to England to play in the Southern League before joining Hampshire in 1996 and taking 6-88 against Glamorgan at Southampton on his debut.

He won his Hampshire cap in 1998 and is the only current player who played for the county in the last century.

He scored the first century to be made at The Rose Bowl, against Worcestershire in 2001, and took the first hat-trick recorded in Twenty20 cricket as part of his career-best 5-14 against Sussex at Hove in 2004.

Mascarenhas also played a big part in his team's victorious 2005 Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy campaign.

He was awarded a benefit year by Hampshire in 2007 and, furthermore, was recognised by his country with an England call-up for their one-day squad to face India in the same year.

During the series, Mascarenhas hit five sixes in a single over from Yuvraj Singh at The Oval - a unique record for any England player.

He was appointed Hampshire captain in 2008. In that same year he was the first English player to be selected to play in the Indian Premier League for the Rajasthan Royals.

"The best accolade that can be afforded to a retiring cricketer is that he will be difficult to replace.

"He was the ultimate one-day player. Dimi had the ability to hit the ball out of the ground, and his nagging accuracy and trademark off cutter when bowling, accounted for countless batsmen.

"He should have played more one-day internationals than he did, but he was deemed half a yard too slow. If only the England selectors at the time had had more faith.

"His four-day appearances though had been drying up recently as a lifetime in cricket began to taken its toll.

"It's worth remembering too that no English player has had more experience in and around the world's richest tournament - the Indian Premier League."

In recent seasons, he has been a key part of one of the most successful periods in Hampshire's history, helping the team win the 2009 Friends Provident Trophy and playing an integral part in the side's victorious Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign last season.

As Twenty20 captain, he led the side to the 2012 title and played in the early rounds, but not the semi-final or final, when they won the competition two years earlier.

In total, he has scored more than 12,000 runs in all formats and taken nearly 900 wickets.

"I feel I have so much left, but my Achilles just isn't up to it and, as a result, I have to retire," he said.

"I have had an amazing time here for 18 seasons; there have been many highs and lows, but one thing that has stayed constant is the guys I have played with. All have been tremendous talents and, more importantly, top blokes. "

Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove believes Mascarenhas deserves legendary status at the club for his 18-year contribution.

"Dimi has established himself as a true Hampshire icon and will be impossible to replace," said Bransgrove.

"His uncomplicated style and positive manner have made him a huge influence in and around the dressing room and his passion and commitment to the cause ensured that he would always be a crowd favourite."

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