Rashid Latif has announced his retirement from Test cricket, after a 34-match career spanning ten years. Latif, who recently suffered a neck injury and had feared he might suffer partial paralysis if he continued playing, was eventually given a clean bill of health by his doctors, but nevertheless decided to call it a day after the success of his replacement, Kamran Akmal. Latif remains available for one-day cricket, and hopes to regain his place in time for the World Cup. "I have played for ten years to the best of my ability," said Latif. "I now find myself too tired to play five-day cricket. I will concentrate on my cricket academy and produce talent for Pakistan cricket. I thank all my colleagues, especially Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Inzamam-ul-Haq, because I enjoyed playing with them."

Latif's Test career began at The Oval in 1992, where a maiden half-century prevented a tailend collapse and helped Pakistan to a series-sealing victory. He missed the first two Tests of Pakistan's subsequent tour of the Caribbean, but thereafter he was a fixture in the side for the next two years.

In 1995, however, during an infamous tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, Latif retired from international cricket in disgust. The reason, it later became apparent, was the underhand behaviour of Pakistan's then-captain, Salim Malik, whom Latif accused of being hand-in-glove with bookmakers. Latif subsequently embarked on a one-man mission to cleanse the game of corruption. In 1997, in an interview with the Indian magazine Outlook, Latif also pointed the finger at India's Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, and, as the scandal grew, the Pakistan Cricket Board first instituted an internal inquiry, then a judicial one. Malik and the fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman were banned for life.

Latif was suddenly elevated to Test captain by officials wanting to project a clean image, only to be dumped from the squad a year later and replaced by his rival for the wicketkeeping role, Moin Khan. Latif spent three years in the wilderness, during which time two other Test captains, Azharuddin and South Africa's Hansie Cronje, were found guilty of malpractice and banned for life as well.

But when Moin's tenure came to an abrupt end after England's series victory in the Karachi gloom in 2000-01, Latif was thrust back into the squad. A first-innings 71 and seven catches in the match helped Pakistan gain revenge over England in the second Test of 2001 at Old Trafford, and the following February he registered his maiden Test century, a magnificent 150 against West Indies at Sharjah.

Latif was an unpretentious, workmanlike keeper, and a pugnacious lower-order batsman who scored six fifties in addition to that century. In all, he took 102 catches and 10 stumpings in his 34 Tests, and completed the double by scoring 1277 runs at an average of 28.37.

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