Sheffield Shield stalwart Callum Ferguson to retire after Queensland match from November 8
Callum Ferguson will retire from Sheffield Shield cricket after South Australia’s next match against Queensland. He will, however, continue to represent Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash and intends to make himself available for the Marsh One Day campaign which is expected to be played in the latter part of the domestic season early next year.
He also represented the now defunct Pune Warriors in the IPL.
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At a press conference, he announced time on his 16-year old career stating “I’d like to thank my family, my parents Pauline and Jim, and my wife Rhiannon who have supported me through the journey. I also have great gratitude for all my team-mates, coaches, SACA Members and fans who have made my time in the baggy red most enjoyable, and I have always been proud to play for this great State.
“I wish nothing but the best for the team which I believe has the talent and drive to take us to a Shield in the years to come. I’m looking forward to playing in the Marsh Cup later in the season and continuing to help mentor our young exciting players.”
Ferguson currently sits on an impressive 9278 runs at 36.81 of which 8210 runs have come in the Sheffield Shield alone. In all, he has scored 20 hundreds and 48 fifties. He’s currently fifth on the all-time runs list for South Australia and needs 60 more to move into the fourth position past Les Favell. The 35-year-old made his first-class debut as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in the first match of the 2004-5 season, a 118-run win against Victoria at Adelaide Oval. He went on to play every game that season, finishing with an impressive 733 runs and two centuries. The right-hander’s highest Sheffield Shield score of 213 came in 2015 in a crushing 302-run win against Tasmania.
Ferguson played one Test for Australia in 2016, against South Africa in Hobart, where he made 3 and 1. His team when on to lose that match.
Talking about his brief time playing for the national team, Ferguson said “There’s a lot of fantastic cricketers around the world that haven’t had the chance to play for their country, and the Baggy Green has been one of the hardest traditionally to get your hands on. I got my hands on one – I didn’t take my chance unfortunately, but it is something I’m enormously proud of.
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“Throughout a career that’s lasted as long as mine, you’re going to get the wrong end of the stick and you’re going to get the right end of it sometimes. I wouldn’t sit here and say I got the raw end of the stick. I certainly believe that the game will hit you sometimes, and the game will lift you sometimes. There’s plenty of guys that had a rougher time of it with selection than I did.”
Ferguson was omitted from South Australia’s opening match of the Sheffield Shield this season before returning for the game against Tasmania where he made 29 and 40, but he bagged pair against Victoria in round three.
“Getting left out at the start of the summer took a bit of the wind out of my sails,” Ferguson reflected. “I was struggling with the idea that I wasn’t in our best top five. I’ve gone into every innings believing I’m going to make a hundred in the next one, and unfortunately I haven’t done that consistently enough to be able to say ‘no, that’s my spot’.
“I feel like I’ve got punches to throw, and I feel like I’m going to make runs every time I go to the crease. But by my own standards I haven’t been consistent enough and I believe there are other players in this squad who can come in, have an impact and be more consistent than I’ve been. At my age, I don’t believe I’m the one that’s going to take us through the second half of this season.”
Speaking about Callum Ferguson, James Pyke, the South Australia chairman of selectors, said: “Callum has been an integral part of the South Australian system for many years and he should be extremely proud of all that he has done for cricket in this state.
“His performances on the ground have been of the highest calibre and most importantly he has been a team member of great character and strength. His leadership has been excellent, and we hope Callum’s impact will be reflected in a new era of players in the future.
“We wish Callum the best and look forward to watching him guide our younger players and to help them build an established career just as he has done.”
Callum Ferguson’s last Sheffield Shield match will begin on November 8 against Queensland.
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