Daryl Mitchell: Ex-Worcestershire captain switches to football in retirement
- Published
Mitchell played his final match for Worcestershire at New Road last September
Former Worcestershire captain Daryl Mitchell said he is embracing a new challenge after signing to play for a team in English football's 10th tier.
The 38-year-old has joined Moreton Rangers this season, who play in the Hellenic League Division One.
Mitchell retired last September after 19 years at New Road, where he scored 13,874 runs across all formats.
"I'm not sure if I'm mad to be honest," Mitchell told BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester.
"I think obviously I'm probably one of the only people to retire from cricket because he's too old and take up football.
"I'm going to give it a go. Football is probably the one thing that I sacrificed during my cricket career, not being able to play."
Having made his Worcestershire debut in 2005, the right-handed opening batter Mitchell went on to appear more than 500 times for the club.
He spent six years captaining the squad, during which time they twice won promotion to Division One of the County Championship. He retired among the top six players on the club's centuries list, with 38.
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During Mitchell's cricket career, football was banned from being used in match warm-ups while the introduction of 12-month contracts also ruled out doubling up for players.
"I think it was 2007 we went from six or seven-month contracts to 12 months and football was on the banned list unfortunately so that was the end of my footballing career," Mitchell said.
"To get the opportunity now is quite nice. I played a bit of Sunday league last year having retired at the end of September, for [local club] Bretforton. The opportunity came up to sign for Moreton so I thought why not."
Mitchell still works with the Professional Cricketers Association and has also continued playing this season with Birmingham Premier League team Ombersley.
Yet the chance to satisfy the competitor inside and give football a try has driven him to a new challenge with the Cotswolds-based team.
"You still have the competitive juices flowing, I guess that's probably the biggest reason why I'm playing, it's just to try and compete for something on a Saturday afternoon," Mitchell added.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge. It's going to be a big challenge - I've not got my eyes closed to that. It might take me a couple of weeks to adapt, that's for sure.
"I'm realistic at my age to know I'm not going to be turning out for 90 minutes every week but if I can add a little bit from the bench or if I can do a job from the start for an hour or something then I'm happy to try and contribute to the team."