Essendon star Aaron Ayre has retired from Victorian Premier Cricket

Aaron Ayre, Essendon’s single-season run record-holder and Victorian Sheffield Shield batsman, has called time on his decorated Premier Cricket career.

Essendon's Aaron Ayre. Picture: Arj Giese.

Essendon great Aaron Ayre has called time on his Victorian Premier Cricket career.

The star opening batsman hangs up the boots as Essendon’s all-time single-season record holder after scoring 1057 runs in 2018-19.

Ayre, 28, is the only batsman in Bombers history to break the 1000-run mark in a season and finishes with 4824 runs in 136 games with seven centuries.

It leaves him seventh on the club’s all-time list and one of just 12 Bombers to have scored 4000 runs.

After moving from Canberra in 2013-14, the wicketkeeper-batsman made his Sheffield Shield debut for Victoria in 2015 and played one Big Bash League match for the Melbourne Renegades.

Aaron Ayre in action for Essendon. Picture: Arj Giese.

However, pending family commitments and rebuilding his gym business will now take priority.

“You get to the point when you realise there are more important things than Premier Cricket, hence the decision,” he said.

“It’s been something that’s crossed my mind the last couple of years towards the end of each season.

“My wife and I are expecting in September and trying to come back from two lockdowns with my F45 Gym has been tough work as well, so I’ve decided there’s more important things for me to focus on.

“Pretty much everything I’ve developed in Melbourne is based around the Essendon Cricket Club and the people within it and I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done.”

Ayre played all eight seasons at Windy Hill, scoring more than 500 runs five times, and finished with 399 runs at an average of 24.94 this season.

He formed one of the most dangerous opening partnerships in the competition with James Seymour, posting 150-run partnerships three times, including a 198-run stand against Casey-South Melbourne in 2017-18.

Ayre said batting with Seymour would be one of his lasting memories.

Aaron Ayre in action for Essendon. Picture: Hamish Blair

“Being able to walk out and open the batting with him so often it makes my life a hell of a lot easier, to stand at the other end and watch him go about his business,” he said.

“I’ve played with Jim for a long time now, obviously a good mate, and I just hope he gets the opportunity to show his worth at the next level.

“As someone’s who’s seen how hard he works and the way he applies himself to the game of cricket no one deserves that chance more.”

Ayre was named as part of the Bombers’ coaching set-up at the start of the season but isn’t sure what his plans will be in 2021-22.

“I’ll take a break for a bit, I’m not even sure if I’ll play or coach or sit a year or two out.

“I’ll see how things develop over the off-season and how the gym continues to bounce back and go from there.

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“I moved down to Victoria for the sole purpose of making a career out of cricket and I can look back on it and am really happy with it.

“There’s still a part of me that feels like I could have got more out of it and wishes that I did but you can’t have everything in life.”

For now his focus is on rebuilding his gym that suffered greatly during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdowns last year.

“We lost probably 65 per cent of our membership base over the period of those two lockdowns, so like all businesses it takes time to build that base up again,” he said.