Northern Districts and New Zealand pace bowler Simon Doull announced today that he will not be available for the remainder of the State Championship season.

Though Doull has not ruled out a return to domestic one-day cricket next season, the statement issued by Northern Districts has the tone of a farewell tribute and suggests that Doull's distinguished career is over.

Work commitments, a relocation and physical wear and tear are given as Doull's reasons for stepping aside.

Doull made his debut for ND in the 1989/90 season, first playing Test cricket for New Zealand against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 1992/93.

He went on to play 32 Tests, taking 98 wickets at an average of 29.30, placing him 11th in the list of New Zealand wicket-takers. One of the factors in Doull's decision is an acceptance that he will not get the chance to reach a century of Test wickets.

His best performance was seven for 65 against India at the Basin Reserve, Wellington on Boxing Day 1998. A superb display of swing bowling removed the top seven Indian batsmen, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

In all, Doull played in 99 first-class matches (falling just short of three figures seems to be a habit), taking 250 wickets at 28.93 and scoring 1938 runs at 19.58 with a single hundred, 108 against Canterbury at Lancaster Park in 1991/92.

He represented New Zealand in 42 One-Day Internationals, taking 36 wickets. He also scored 172 runs at the healthy strike rate of 91.97.

Doull won the Winsor Cup as the country's best bowler in 1996/97.

In the last two years he has reinvented himself as a swashbuckling, and sometimes devastating, pinch hitter at the top of the order in one-day cricket. Achieving a surprisingly high success rate, Doull's batting has been decisive in a number of matches, most notably his recent dismantling of the England attack. His 47-ball 80 launched ND towards successful pursuit of the tourists' 288.

Doull's announcement followed his omission from the Northern Districts team for today's State Championship match against Central Districts in Hamilton, though there is no hint of sour grapes on Doull's part. He has performed 12th man duties cheerfully enough.

Northern Districts CEO John Turkington paid tribute to Doull.

"Simon's contribution to Northern Districts Cricket to this point has been exceptional. He has performed with the highest distinction in playing terms for both Northern Districts and New Zealand. He has also been a fantastic ambassador for the association in all off field activities.

"In these professional times when it is so easy for players to change associations, his unquestioned loyalty to this association through his entire playing career is greatly appreciated and is indicative of the person he is. We look forward to Simon having a major role in the development of the next generation of Northern Districts' quick bowlers."

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