Former England spinner Simon Kerrigan, who currently
plays for Northamptonshire, has declared his retirement from the sport. The
34-year-old Kerrigan made his comeback at Wantage Road in 2020, but he has only
participated in one County Championship game this year.
Slow left-armer Kerrigan played in one Test, against
Australia at The Oval in 2013, and was productive early in his career at
Lancashire. However, following a disappointing start, he dropped out of the
running and decided not to participate in 2018.
“I would like to thank all the players and staff
for my time at Northamptonshire, especially David Ripley for allowing me the
opportunity to get back into the professional game and also John Sadler for
showing faith in me and giving me a long term contract,” Kerrigan said.
“The goal when I signed with David Ripley was to
strive for the fairytale ending to the second part of my career,
disappointingly though over the last couple of seasons that dream has moved
further and further out of reach and it feels like the right time for me to
move on.”
“I’m proud throughout my career to have given
100% and fought back from each setback along the way.”
In 2011, Kerrigan gained notoriety by bowling
Lancashire to their first uncontested County Championship in 77 years. Shortly
after, he began working with the England Lions. He was the top young spinner in
the nation for a while, but his confidence seems to have been shaken by his
lone Test outing, where he bowled a single stint of 0 for 53 from eight overs.
Before being released in 2018, Kerrigan amassed more
than 300 wickets for Lancashire in all formats. He briefly chose to concentrate
on coaching before returning to playing with Northants, where he amassed 54
first-class wickets and 11 in List A over the course of four seasons at Wantage
Road.