Tim Ambrose: Warwickshire's ex-England wicketkeeper to retire at end of season

Tim Ambrose helped Warwickshire win the County Championship in 2012

Warwickshire's ex-England wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose is to retire at the end of the 2020 county season.

The 37-year-old former Sussex man has spent 14 years with the Bears, having first signed in 2006.

He played the first of his 11 Tests for England in March 2008, spending a year as first-choice, while he also played five one-day games and one T20 match.

"It is a difficult thing to accept as I would love to play another 20 years, if it was at all possible," said Ambrose.

"But it is the right time for this talented, energetic and ambitious young squad to move forward and make their own mark. I have always tried to put the club and the team first and to not make this decision now would go against that."

Warwickshire sport director Paul Farbrace said: "Tim has been one of the great wicketkeeper-batsmen of the modern game. A fantastic player and an even better bloke. A model professional.

"By playing out the 2020 season, we will ensure that he has a very fitting farewell before he moves on to his next challenge.

"Throughout making the decision to retire, he's always thought about the impact it will have on the team and is completely modest about the important role he's played in the club's history.

A revised format for the delayed and truncated 2020 season, which is scheduled to begin on 1 August, is currently being worked on.

Warwickshire's players, including new signing Tim Bresnan, 35, and fellow England international Ian Bell, 38, returned to training earlier this week.

Ambrose's career in numbers

Ambrose won four trophies with Warwickshire; the County Championship in 2012, the T20 Blast in 2014 and two Lord's triumphs, the CB40 in 2010 and the One-Day Cup in 2015.

Having gone past 1,000 career dismissals in 2019, his overall total of 812 victims for the Bears behind the stumps is bettered only by Geoff Humpage (1,017).

Ambrose has scored 11,349 first-class runs, of which 8,414 have come for Warwickshire, in a career run tally of 16,902.

He has hit 21 centuries, including one for England against New Zealand in Wellington in his second Test and 14 first-class tons for the Bears.