Andy Bichel retires

[formeropenside]

Bustling Bichel hangs up his boots
Jim Morton | February 9, 2009 - 11:09AM

Former Australian fast bowler Andy Bichel has announced his retirement from cricket at age 38.

Queenslander Bichel, who played 19 Tests from 1997-2003, decided on Monday to hang up his boots after a long battle with a shoulder injury.

A bustling fast bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, Bichel took 58 wickets at 32.24 as he played the bulk of his Tests as the first-change bowler to Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.

But his best performances came in one-day cricket at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he starred in comeback victories over England and New Zealand.

Bichel took 7-20 against England and shared in a rearguard 73-run stand with Michael Bevan in a man-of-the-match effort.

He finished the tournament with 16 wickets at 12.31

The evergreen quick was the Pura Cup player of the season in 2005-06 at age 35 when he led Queensland to the interstate four-day title with a double of 452 runs at 34.76 and 50 wickets at 26.69.

AAP

Shoulder finally did him in. I hope he heads off the ICL and makes a few last dollars out of the game. I always thought he was a bit hard done by for the man who won Aust the CWC in 2003.

Hell, it was only a few years ago that a line up of Bichel, Kaspa, Noffke and Johnson were the Queensland pace attack. Not too many you'd swap that for at State level.

 

[RugbyReg]

From "The Whistle"

January 1, 2004, the day after Andy Bichel had been dropped from the Australian Test cricket team for the umpteenth ? and almost certainly ? final time, he found a one page fax under the door of his Sydney hotel room.

?Andy ?just wanted to say how much I enjoyed playing alongside and against you throughout my career. You?ve inspired many people with your attitude, dedication to the team, and X factor that you bring to any team environment?.you always put the team first, and have always enjoyed your mates? success. As a captain, it would have been a dream to have 10 of you, and that?s the highest compliment I can pay anyone? All the best, Tugga.?

Steve Waugh?s words of praise for one of his at times unheralded foot soldiers poses an interesting question ? exactly how hard is it to balance up personal ambition with the broader ?team? agenda?

Some are unabashedly self-centred and self focused. It works for them. They make no apologies.

Others pay constant lip service to putting team first, the great team fabric, etc etc, but in the back of their mind, they know if they don?t perform as individuals, they won?t be part of the team environment. If push came to shove ? ie: two people requiring the attention of one just coach, there?d be no ?please, you go ? I?ll wait?. There?d be elbowing to get through the gate first.

Other sports, like football, clearly demand the highest level of teamwork and co-operation on the field, but the contributions that individuals make behind the scenes can also have a strong impact ? positive and negative. Do they spend time building up a teammate low on confidence, do they abide by the team?s total alcohol ban, do they dwell on a teammate getting paid more, do they have their agent shop around for a new contract mid-season, when there?s every chance it could become a distraction?

Talk to any long term successful coach, and you?re likely to hear the words discipline and sacrifice. Doing what you know should, when you really don?t want to. And casting aside personal preference, for what best serves the broader group.

Bichel calls them the ?one percenters?. Like driving across town to pick up some new gear for a teammate, or staying behind for an hour after training, to fetch footballs for the team goal-kicker.

Or perhaps even waiting patiently in the dressing shed to sing the team song, when there?s clearly other places you?d like to be.

 

[Pfitzy]

We could use some of his attitude now - too many fuckers playing for themselves rather than concentrating on their job.

Have missed Bichel's workhorse approach to bowling and ability to utterly confuse a batsman when he's on song.