Former Australia and NSW pacer Trent Copeland retires from first-class cricket

New South Stalwart sturdy and Australia three-Test seamer Trent Copeland has declared his retirement from first class cricket.

Copeland has been a pillar of Sheffield Shield cricket throughout the course of recent years having taken 410 top notch wickets at 25.65 including 21 five-wicket takes and three 10-wicket haul.

Copeland, who turns 37 on March 14, said it was the perfect opportunity to step away.

“It’s one of those things where it’s probably been coming for a little while,” Copeland said. “Thinking at the start of the season, would it be my last year? I’m about to turn 37. It’s probably time when I handed the reins over to some of the younger boys.

“I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved but also what my family and certainly my wife and kids have allowed me to achieve through their support. I’m very lucky.”

The 195cm swing bowler has tormented Australian homegrown hitters across his career. His unerring precision and capacity to swing the ball the two different ways in amicable and antagonistic circumstances made him one of New South Wales’ best at point Shield bowlers.

He burst onto the scene in his debut game as a 23-year-old taking 8 for 92 in his most memorable Shield innings with the ball, the second-best figures by New South Wales bowler on debut, and guaranteeing 10 for the match. He took an unprecedented 80 wickets in his initial 15 Safeguard matches at 21.57. It got him chosen on an Australia A visit through Zimbabwe in 2011 and the resulting three-Test visit through Sri Lanka a month after the fact. He took 5 for 47 in the primary visit match and appeared in the initial Test in Galle with Nathan Lyon. Copeland played in each of the three Tests in Sri Lanka and accepted six wickets as Australia won the series 1-0. He additionally went on the accompanying two-Test visit through South Africa however didn’t play.

The rise of individual New South Grains pacer Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood at Test level implied Copeland never got one more chance for Australia yet their nonattendance from Shield cricket permitted him to overwhelm the homegrown contest. He played in four Shield finals and assisted New South Wales winning two titles. He took 52 wickets in the 2018-19 season remembering 8 for a horrible final against Victoria at the junction Oval. Just 12 bowlers in the competition history have at any point taken more wickets in a single season. He completes equivalent eleventh on all Shield wicket-takers list with 344 scalps at 26.30.

Copeland additionally played one season for Northampton shire in division two of the county title in 2013 and took 45 wickets at 18.36 in only 10 games including four five-wicket haul.

Copeland just played 29 List A games yet played in New South Wales’ Matador BBQ’s Cup [Australia’s Domestic One-Day Cup competition] win in 2016-17 taking 2 for 33 in the final against Queensland. It was his last List A game.

He just played three T20s across his career playing one for NSW in the old Big Bash Competition in 2011 and afterward two in the BBL, including one for Sydney Thunder in 2012 and one for Sydney Sixers in 2014.

Lately Copeland has joined his Shield playing obligations with NSW with TV commentary job for Channel Seven on their Test and BBL inclusion as an analyst. It’s something he will keep on doing post-playing yet he might likewise want to mentor sooner or later.

“I’ll finish playing as of right now but I’m still going to be very much involved with Seven’s cricket commentary team, sitting in the best seat in the house at all the best venues watching the best cricket so I’ll be heavily involved there,” Copeland said. “My ambitions post-cricket are certainly to either be involved in a coaching capacity or administratively as well. So what that looks like I don’t know. But I’m going to sit at home with [wife] Kim and the kids and have a bit of family time.”