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South Africa`s Jonty Rhodes said good-bye to his team mates, the World Cup and international cricket on Friday after confirming his retirement.
The 33-year-old, dropped from the South Africa squad on Thursday because of a broken hand, spoke to each team member after a net session in Johannesburg before walking away.
"I`m not a good watcher and I`d probably be more annoying to the guys if I hung around," he said.
Rhodes was ruled out for at least the next three weeks after breaking a bone in his right hand while fielding against Kenya on Wednesday.
South Africa`s most capped one-day international and renowned as the best fielder in the world, he told a news conference earlier that there was the slimmest of chances he could be recalled if another player was injured later in the tournament.
"Unless something else happens to someone else down the line, then yes, this is it," he said.
South Africa media manager Gerald de Kock, however, quashed that suggestion.
He said tournament rules prohibited injured players returning.
"That`s what we have been told and that`s fine by us, end of story," De Kock said. The ICC later confirmed those rules.
Rhodes, also a highly effective middle-order batsman, was dropped after it was revealed his hand would take at least three weeks to heal, ruling him out of the first round of the tournament.
"It is not quite the script that I envisaged," he said. "But I actually really see it as a blessing. When I left school in 1988, there wasn`t really a hope for me to play.
"I saw one of the newspaper headlines, it said `broken dream`, but for me to have played 245 one-day internationals and participated in four World Cups, there`s nothing to be ungrateful for.
"It`s been a privilege to play for my country."
GO-AHEAD
South Africa called up batsman Graeme Smith as a replacement after being given the go-ahead from tournament organisers.
Rhodes is due to play for English county Gloucestershire this year.
"I`m going to play cricket in the U.K. for six months," he said. "I`m going to take it one season at a time but I have no definite plans.
"Everyone keeps saying you`ve got to get back to cricket and cricket has brought a lot of joy for me but I`d also like to think, over the last 14 years of first-class cricket and 10 years for my country, that I`ve given back a bit as well.
"I don`t feel the need to put anything back into the game, although obviously I`m going to encourage as many kids as possible to play.
"I don`t think I`ve got the patience to be an umpire or the temperament to be a coach, and I`m not a commentator. I may talk a lot in the field, but it`s mostly rubbish.
"Maybe I`ll take up surfing, it`s safer out there."
Rhodes`s exit came two days after Shane Warne, the game`s most successful leg spinner, pulled out of the World Cup after failing a drugs test.
Rhodes, also a hockey international, retired from test cricket in 2000 to concentrate on one-dayers and to spend more time at home with his wife and daughter.
He played 245 one-day internationals and 52 tests, averaging just over 35 in both.
The 33-year-old, dropped from the South Africa squad on Thursday because of a broken hand, spoke to each team member after a net session in Johannesburg before walking away.
"I`m not a good watcher and I`d probably be more annoying to the guys if I hung around," he said.
Rhodes was ruled out for at least the next three weeks after breaking a bone in his right hand while fielding against Kenya on Wednesday.
South Africa`s most capped one-day international and renowned as the best fielder in the world, he told a news conference earlier that there was the slimmest of chances he could be recalled if another player was injured later in the tournament.
"Unless something else happens to someone else down the line, then yes, this is it," he said.
South Africa media manager Gerald de Kock, however, quashed that suggestion.
He said tournament rules prohibited injured players returning.
"That`s what we have been told and that`s fine by us, end of story," De Kock said. The ICC later confirmed those rules.
Rhodes, also a highly effective middle-order batsman, was dropped after it was revealed his hand would take at least three weeks to heal, ruling him out of the first round of the tournament.
"It is not quite the script that I envisaged," he said. "But I actually really see it as a blessing. When I left school in 1988, there wasn`t really a hope for me to play.
"I saw one of the newspaper headlines, it said `broken dream`, but for me to have played 245 one-day internationals and participated in four World Cups, there`s nothing to be ungrateful for.
"It`s been a privilege to play for my country."
GO-AHEAD
South Africa called up batsman Graeme Smith as a replacement after being given the go-ahead from tournament organisers.
Rhodes is due to play for English county Gloucestershire this year.
"I`m going to play cricket in the U.K. for six months," he said. "I`m going to take it one season at a time but I have no definite plans.
"Everyone keeps saying you`ve got to get back to cricket and cricket has brought a lot of joy for me but I`d also like to think, over the last 14 years of first-class cricket and 10 years for my country, that I`ve given back a bit as well.
"I don`t feel the need to put anything back into the game, although obviously I`m going to encourage as many kids as possible to play.
"I don`t think I`ve got the patience to be an umpire or the temperament to be a coach, and I`m not a commentator. I may talk a lot in the field, but it`s mostly rubbish.
"Maybe I`ll take up surfing, it`s safer out there."
Rhodes`s exit came two days after Shane Warne, the game`s most successful leg spinner, pulled out of the World Cup after failing a drugs test.
Rhodes, also a hockey international, retired from test cricket in 2000 to concentrate on one-dayers and to spend more time at home with his wife and daughter.
He played 245 one-day internationals and 52 tests, averaging just over 35 in both.
