Craig Meschede: Glamorgan all-rounder forced to retire

All-rounder Craig Meschede represented Glamorgan, Somerset and Germany during his career

Glamorgan all-rounder Craig Meschede has been forced to retire aged 28 because of a bicep problem.

Johannesburg-born Meschede spent five seasons with Glamorgan following four years with Somerset, after studying at King's College in Taunton.

He hit a Championship top score of 107, while his best bowling figures were five for 84.

Meschede also made five T20 appearances for his father's native country of Germany in 2019.

But a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, affecting the upper arm, has ended his chances of adding to his 221 appearances across the three formats at county level.

"It's been an extremely difficult decision to make because cricket has been my life for the last 10 years," Meschede told BBC Sport Wales.

"I dedicated a lot of time and effort to make sure I played professional cricket, so a very difficult decision to make but a very easy one in terms of my health.

"The symptoms I've had have been severe nerve pain, pins and needles, muscle wastage in my bicep and my forearm - I've lost about 80% strength in my right arm.

"It's impacted me all over, not just in cricket. The next step is to have a medical procedure to improve my everyday life."

Meschede made a high-profile start to county cricket with Somerset, dismissing Indian star Sachin Tendulkar for his first first-class wicket in 2011, while in the following year he made six Championship appearances as Somerset finished runners-up.

Meschede, a seam bowler and hard-hitting lower-order batsman, also began well for Glamorgan, dismissing England's Kevin Pietersen and hitting a century against Surrey in front of a packed media box on his home debut.

He went on to score 655 runs and take 43 wickets in first-class cricket in 2015, while in 2017 he was part of the squad which reached T20 Finals Day - claiming 3-17 in the quarter-final win over Leicestershire and 2-24 in the semi-final defeat against Warwickshire.

Meschede previously blasted 10 runs off the final two balls of the match to win a crucial group game in Essex.

But a calf injury affected his 2018 season while 2019 was blighted by the bicep problem which ended his career, as he lost his place in the first team and could not regain it once back in action.

Despite his frustration at county level, a World Cup T20 qualifying tournament in Jersey saw Meschede make a huge impression in his first outings for Germany, top-scoring three times and winning a further man-of-the-match award in his five appearances.