Aussie cricket cult hero Dan Christian teared up as he reflected on his magnificent career.
The 39-year-old announced last week he would retire from the sport at the end of the season, which came on Thursday night as the Sixers were knocked out by the Heat in the BBL preliminary final, in what Adam Gilchrist described as one of the biggest upsets in the league’s history.
Christian made just 7 before he was bowled by Spencer Johnson, before a spirited Michael Neser innings guided the Heat to a stunning four-wicket win and booked their place in the final against Perth on Saturday.
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Christian was one of Australia’s most prolific T20 talents. He played 409 T20s, scored just shy of 6000 runs, took nearly 300 wickets and won nine tournaments.
Speaking after the match, Christian teared up yet spoke like a man more than ready to settle into life post-cricket.
“The main thing is being able to catch up with people and say I haven’t got cricket on,” he told former New South Wales teammate Trent Copeland on Channel 7.
“I’m going to be able to catch up with family and friends and go to weddings and birthdays – all those things I have missed out on for the last 20-odd years.”
Christian’s BBL career spanned stints with the Heat, Hurricanes, Renegades and Sixers. He played 137 BBL matches, scoring 2098 runs at the average of 22.32, while also taking 93 wickets at the average of 27.22.
Immediately after Thursday night’s game, several teammates and Heat opponents made sure of speaking with Christian.
He said he had been thinking about the decision for months before finally pulling the trigger.
“I suppose I’m going to have a couple of months now … or the rest of my life, really, to reflect on my career,” he said.
“I suppose it’s still a little raw now that we’ve lost that game – we were looking forward to … playing as well as we could and winning that and going back and trying to have another crack at the Scorchers and trying to win that title.
“I have thought about retiring over the last couple of months or so. It’s been a pretty good run.”
Christian also played 20 ODIs and 23 T20Is for Australia.
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