Former New Zealand fast bowler Ewen Chatfield retires at 68

Former New Zealand fast bowler Ewen Chatfield, who has played cricket for nearly five decades, announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 68.

Chatfield started his international career in 1975 with a Test match against England in Auckland. By then, he already had an experience of 7 years in domestic cricket.

During his time at the top, Chatfield played 43 Tests and 114 ODIs for New Zealand. He played his last international match against Pakistan in February 1989. Since then, he has kept himself active by playing club cricket for Naenae Old Boys.

Now, after spending nearly 5 decades on the cricket field, he has decided to end his career. He played his last match for Wellington-based club Naenae Old Boys on January 26, 2019.

In an interview given to Stuff.co.nz, Chatfield affirmed, "It might seem silly but I have standards, even at 68, and if I can't play to those standards I thought it is time to flag it. The Naenae Express has run out of steam, I would not mind that as a heading."

Born on July 3rd of 1950, Chatfield got out on the first ball in his last match for the Naenae Old Boys club. He started his cricket career in February 1968 with this team, so decided to retire from the same place.

The right-arm seamer picked 123 wickets in 43 Tests at an average of 32.17, including three five-wicket hauls and one match haul of 10/124. Six wickets for 73 runs was the best performance of his in an innings in Test cricket.

Chatfield also took 140 wickets in ODIs with a bowling average of 25.84. His best performance in the white-ball format was five wickets for 34 runs. At his heydays, he formed a lethal new-ball pairing with the great Sir Richard Hadlee.