Thiele calls it a day

Press, 5 February 1986, Page 64

Thiele calls it a day

Craig Thiele, whose unbounded enthusiasm and energy has earned him more than 100 wickets for Canterbury over the last six summers, yesterday announced his retirement from first-class cricket. An ankle injury and increasing business commitments will prevent Thiele from playing in Canterbury’s final Shell Trophy match, against Otago at Dunedin starting tomorrow.

“The ankle tendons have become strained, a development of 15 years of pounding down on the front foot while bowling. The problem has been more obvious this season and I can’t bowl as fast as I would like,” said Thiele yesterday. “I had intended this to be my last year, but it is disappointing because I have never played at Carisbrook. I was keen to finish there after hearing the Carisbrook pitch was pretty quick, seaming around and with plenty of grass,” he said. Thiele set his sights on a milestone of 100 wickets for the province at the start of the present season, and has comfortably achieved that target. In six matches he has another 19, giving him a career analysis of 107 at 26.93 runs each.

Aged 32, the 1.93 m and 98.5 kg medium-fast bowler three times took five wickets in an innings, with a best of six for 45 in Canterbury’s win over the 1982-83 Sri Lankan tourists.

“That would have to be a highlight because it had a bit of international flavour,” said Thiele, “but I can also remember taking five in an innings against Wellington on Lancaster Park one day. I enjoyed

that, and we won outright” Thiele is also a cohol’der of the Canterbury Shell. Cup limited-over bowling record with three wickets for 15 runs against Otago in 1980-81, and admits to a liking for one-day cricket. Though invariably placed well down the order, Thiele had a highest first-class score of 49, when he and Ash Hart set a new tenth-wicket record of 87 for Canterbury against Wellington at Rangiora last season. “Over the six years we have won the trophy and the cup. It was not a long career, but an enjoyable one,” he said. Thiele intends to continue with Lancaster Park in club cricket next summer. A member of the Canterbury management committee for two years, he also hopes to put "more ex-player input” into administration.

His replacement against Otago in Dunedin will be Andrew Hintz, a young Burnside-West mediumfast bowler who took five wickets in his only match for Canterbury. B this season.