Charlie Morris: Worcestershire bowler forced to retire after failing to recover from a knee injury
- Published
Charlie Morris took career-best figures against Leicestershire in 2019 when he claimed 7-45
Worcestershire fast bowler Charlie Morris has announced his retirement from cricket because of a knee injury.
The 30-year-old has not played since the Pears' County Championship win against Middlesex in July last year.
Morris took 237 wickets in his first-class career and made his county debut against Australia in a tour match at New Road in 2013.
He said the decision to retire had been made "after several weeks of contemplation".
"I'd like to express my gratitude to the staff at Worcestershire, my teammates, and the phenomenal coaches and support staff who I've had the privilege to work with," Hereford-born Morris said., external
"I am tremendously proud of everything I have accomplished, and I want to extend my best wishes to everyone at Worcestershire as they move forward."
Morris made his first-class debut for Oxford MCCU against Glamorgan in 2012 and was part of Worcestershire's successful promotion to Division One in his first full County Championship season two years later, when he took 56 wickets.
He then followed that up with 50 more, despite the Pears' relegation, the following summer.
Morris was forced to remodel his action after running into problems in 2016 and barely played for the next two years as he carried out the necessary remedial work - a period he described as "mentally taxing".
He was a fairly late developer in the T20 format, with his 32 matches spanning nearly 10 years, but he became a regular part of the side in the past two years, finishing as the club's leading wicket-taker in 2021 with 17.
Perhaps fittingly, his maiden first-class fifty came against the touring Australians against in 2019 when he withstood a peppering from their Test match attack that included Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood.
Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson described Morris as "a wonderful human being", adding his contribution to the club "on and off the field has been fantastic".
"Anyone who has watched him knows that Charlie puts his heart and soul into every performance," he said.
"His record speaks for itself, and he has been on a hell of a journey. It was always his dream to be a county cricketer and to achieve that, do so well, and be such an influential member of this special club is something he should be very proud of."