Cricket said its final goodbyes to quite a few of the top players. The fearful left-arm seamers Zaheer Khan and Mitchell Johnson won’t be breathing fire on batsmen come 2016. For bowlers at the other end, there won’t be the willow of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Virender Sehwag. Elsewhere, PIONEER SPORT takes a look at the retirements in 2015
Midge fear-factor gone for batsmen all over
At his best the most fearsome bowler, Mitchell Johnson had a career full of highs and lows. Throughout his career he was in and out of the Australian team before finally calling it time this year. The mighty pacer won the ICC cricketer of the year award twice, in 2009 and 2014. But he will be fondly remembered for his performance in the 2013-14 season. At the Ashes in 2013 and in the series against South Africa that followed, the spearhead took a total of 59 wickets at an average of 15.23. The numbers, obviously, speak for his ability but not for the brutality with which he bowled. He was brutal and lethal in those successive series and became a nightmare for many batsmen as they had to take blows on their shoulder, helmets and their body when Mitch bowled with speed and aggression. His performance in the season earned him the Allan Border medal, the first and the only one of his career. He also won the ICC test player of the year award in the year 2014 as well. In total the mighty pacer has taken 313 Test wickets in 73 matches, 239 wickets in 153 ODIs and in 30 T20 Internationals he took 38 wickets. Johnson will be remembered for his lethal pace but was a decent batsman as well. In Tests he scored a century along with 11 half centuries and scored a total of 2065 runs.
Injury depleted Nash walks off court
After a career spanning 19 years and two Most Valued Player (MVP) trophies, one of the best point guards in the game, Steve Nash announced his retirement from basketball. He tallied the third most assists in league history and fittingly had his name imbibed in the Hall of Fame. With 10,335 assists in his career, he was only behind John Stockton and Jason Kidd in all time charts. His career saw him make a mark for Phoenix Suns in a quick period before making his way to Dallas Mavericks and then back to the Suns. His dream move, as he called it, transpired in 2012 by joining los Angeles lakers but the Canadian couldn’t win an NBA Championship with injuries affecting the latter stages of his career. The Canadian is the most accurate free throw shooter in the game with more than 90 per cent accuracy. To highlight his exemplary record, as a quarterback he led the team in offensive charts for nine straight seasons from 2001 till 2009. The 6-foot-3 Nash won the MVP Award in 2005 and 2006, a rarity for a ‘baller’ to win it in consecutive years. He amassed 17,387 points in his glittering career.
Dependable Mayya gets out
The Island nation's most technically sound right-handed batsman an equally capable captain, Mahela Jayawardene's blistering career came to an end after retiring along with his compatriot Kumar Sangakkara at the end of the 2015 World Cup. Having retired from Test and T20 cricket last year, Jayawardene's last ODI was the quarterfinal against South Africa. He only scored 4 runs and Sri lanka failed to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 1999. In his final year, Jayawardene scored 403 runs in 14 matches, with two centuries. Overall the 38-year-old played 448 ODIs and managed 12,650 runs at an average of 33.37. It includes 19 centuries and 77 half-centuries, with his highest being 144. Not to mention the 149 Tests he played for Sri lanka, managing 11,814 runs. Although a master at home, the drawback of Mahela's career was his performance overseas. In the away conditions of Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, he averaged less than 35 everywhere. However that average gets a big boost in the familiar conditions of Sri lanka where his average is close to 60. As a leader too he was equally successful. Under him, Sri lanka won Test series in England and New Zealand and reached the final of the 2007 World Cup, which will go down as his biggest achievement as captain.
Zaheer Khan swings out
After 15 years of cricket, left arm pacer Zaheer Khan said goodbye to international and first class cricket in October. Having picked up 610 international wickets, Zak finished as India's fourth highest wicket taker across all formats and second most for an Indian pacer in Test (311; Kapil Dev leads with 434). An injury to his left arm kept him on the sidelines and he played only seven games in the Indian Premier league this past season. His final Test came against New Zealand this year but his last ODI was more than three years back against Sri lanka. The veteran pacer also played a key role in India's World Cup wining campaign in 2011. The Indian bowling maestro took 21 wickets in the road to India's glory in the mega event, leading the chart for the most wickets along with Shahid Afridi. The spearhead was a terror for all the left handed batsmen, one can ask Greame Smith about if in doubt, and has dismissed the left-handers 124 times at an average of 28.55. At close, the splendid swinger wrapped up his career with 92 Tests, 200 ODIs and 17 T20I's to his name. The spearhead was a terror for left handed batsmen, one can ask South Africa’s Greame Smith about it if in doubt.
McCaw goes out on high
Former New Zealand captain Richie McCaw brought to an end a glittering career after lifting the World Cup trophy at Twickenham. He has captained the side 110 times and won 131 times in his 148 caps. He is the most capped test rugby player of all time. McCaw’s retirement came 24 hours after the death of iconic All Blacks winger Jonah lomu on 18th November. McCaw has won the World Rugby player of the year, a record three times. Richie usually played as Blindside Flanker (who play in forwards) and sometimes as number eight (in the last row when scrum is being organised). He was instrumental in the team winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup. After Black Caps’ elimination in the quarter-finals in 2007, his captaincy came under criticism, but he was retained and eventually led the team to consecutive world cup titles in 2011 and 2015, becoming one of only twenty dual Rugby Union World Cup winners. McCaw's debut test was against Ireland on 17 November 2001. American magazine Sports Illustrated recognised McCaw's retirement as one of biggest of 2015.
Golden star Abby heads out
Wambach, is an American football player, coach, two-time Olympic gold medallist and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Abby Wambach became the all-time leader in international goals while leading the US women’s national team to Olympic gold and the 2015 FIFA World Cup title. In 2012, Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in ten years. She has a record 184 goals to her name in 255 appearances. Wambach announced her retirement on October 27, 2015. Her last game was played on December 16 in New Orleans when the United States played its last match of its 10-game Victory Tour following their win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The only down side of her farewell match was China prevailed 1-0. She is also the leading scorer in the history of international football. She brought to a close a 15-year international career that began in 2001 when she was just 21.
No more magic spells by Dan
Splendid left-handed all-rounder, Daniel Vettori retired from all formats of the game after the completion of the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The youngest player to be part of the Black Caps team in Test cricket had a wonderful career where he took a total of 705 wickets while representing his country on 442 occasions in total. Vettori has a ‘double’ of 300 wickets and 3000 runs in Test cricket and he is one of the only eight players in the world to do so. A more-than handy lower order batsman, he is considered to be the most prolific number eight batsman in the world with just 11 less than 7000 runs in international cricket. Named as captain of the team after Stephen Fleming's retirement, the burden of responsibilities on his shoulders increased when he was named as the selector as well in 2009, but that didn’t affect his personal performances although the team’s quality saw a dip.