Australian veteran and Sydney Sixers fan favourite Dan Christian has announced his retirement from cricket.The 39-year old took to social media on Saturday to confirm this Big Bash season would be his last at the end of the Sixers’ finals campaign as the team searches for its third title in four seasons. “Yesterday at training I told me Sydney Sixers teammates that I’ll be retiring from playing at the end of the BBL season. Sydney Smash tonight, followed by our last game against the Hurricanes, and then the finals,” Christian wrote. “Hopefully we can go all the way again this season, but regardless, it’s been a great run. I’ve achieved great things and made memories that I could have only dreamt of as a kid. “What I didn’t expect to learn as a kid though, is how many people I was going to come in contact with that have had an influence on my career and ended up becoming lifelong friends.
“I’m looking forward to now having the time to catch up with you all and not having to use the excuse: ‘Sorry, I’ve got cricket. ’“I’ll reserve some thank you’s for after my last game (whenever that may be), but in the meantime, go the Sixers! ”With the Sixers having finished in the top-two of the Round Robin stage, the 39-year-old Christian will have at least two more games to add to his stellar T20 career, which has thus far seen him feature in 405 games over 17 seasons during which he has scored 5809 runs and taken 280 wickets. Christian has played for 19 different T20 teams around the world and has won nine championships with eight sides. This includes winning the BBL with three different teams - Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers. He has also represented Australia 23 times in the format, most recently in 2021, on the tour of Bangladesh. Christian has also played 20 games for Australia in the ODI format and claimed a hat-trick en-route figures of 5 for 31 in an ODI against Sri Lanka at the MCG in 2012.The Sixers will play Sydney rivals Thunder on Saturday before rounding off their league campaign with a clash against the Hobart Hurricanes.
