Tim Murtagh, a former Ireland seamer who played 23
seasons of county cricket, has declared he will stop playing professionally at
the conclusion of the current campaign.
Murtagh, 42, has been included on Middlesex’s roster
for this week’s encounter against Warwickshire at Lord’s, where the club will
continue its battle to remain in Division One of the County Championship. The
club still has one more game left to play this campaign, which will take place
against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
If chosen, he would make his 264th first-class
appearance against Warwickshire and 91st at Lord’s, where earlier this season
he proved his enduring class by taking his fifth career ten-wicket haul,
including his 1000th wicket for Middlesex, in a convincing nine-wicket victory
over Kent.
However, Murtagh is now prepared to go into coaching
full-time, with a permanent place in the Middlesex back-room staff, after
taking on a player-coach role at the beginning of the 2023 season.
“I’ve had these words mulling around in my head
for around ten years, but now is the time to put them onto paper,” Murtagh
said in a statement released by the club.
“It’s with a great deal of pride and a tinge of
sadness that I announce my retirement from cricket at the end of this season.
Its finally time to hang up the speed menace boots (the irony is not lost on
me) after an incredible 25 years of joy playing professional sport.
“It’s been an incredible honour to have played
for this great club since 2007 and I am grateful to everyone who made me feel
instantaneously at home here. Right up to the present management in helping me
transition out of playing this year. I still hope to play a big part in keeping
us in Division One these last two weeks.
“Moving forward I can’t wait to help the next
generation of Middlesex cricketers live out their own dreams as I move onto the
coaching staff and the next phase of my life.”