Jayde Herrick retires from cricket after injuries take a toll

Former Victorian and Melbourne Renegades paceman Jayde Herrick’s reasons for retiring were painfully clear.

Jayde Herrick celebrates with Glenn Maxwell and David Hussey after dismissing Steve Smith.

Jayde Herrick has always loved bowling fast.

But in the end it hurt too much.

“It’s just pain,” he said after telling his Langwarrin teammates he’d played his last game on Saturday.

“Pain and other things now. It’s just all got too much. It’s been a pretty long and arduous sort of career and bowling fast has taken a toll on the body.”

Once clocked at 147.8km/h in a one-day game for Victoria, Herrick dismissed some of the best batsmen in the world, including Steve Smith and Ricky Ponting, during his first-class career from 2010-13.

\Jayde Herrick appeals for and gets the LBW wicket of England’s Paul Collingwood.

In 2011, Herrick was the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield after three rounds, and was close to earning an Australian cap.

In recent summers he’s played local cricket and this season he joined MPCA powerhouse Langwarrin to fulfil a pact to play one more time with close friend Tom Hussey.

“We both grew up playing in the DDCA and at Cranbourne and then we played four seasons together at Casey South Melbourne in Premier Cricket,” Herrick said.

“And, yeah, it was just one of those things that he’s always said to me that we had to play again before I finished. It seemed a good time to join him.”

Herrick bowling for Langwarrin in his last game on Saturday. Picture: Damien Wust

Herrick captured 16 wickets this season to help Langwarrin into the Provincial finals.

But he’s been playing with pain.

“I’ve got arthritis and scar tissue on a lot of stuff, a few metatarsals on my big toe,” he said.

“My big toe is basically split from one side to the other, it’s just a big open wound which happens all the time when I bowl.

“It’s just got to that time in my career now where I think I’ve achieved everything I can and it’s time to move in with something else.”

Herrick said he enjoyed his season with Langwarrin.

“I went there because I knew there was a chance (to win a flag) in my last year,” he said.

“We had a good year, we won the Jack Peacock (Cup) and nearly got ourselves into the grand final. It was a pretty successful year, it’s just unfortunate we didn’t get there.”

Jayde Herrick is mobbed by his Langwarrin teammates on Saturday. Picture: Damien Wust

Herrick surprised his Langy teammates by quietly announcing his retirement in the rooms after their semi-final loss to Sorrento on Saturday.

“No one knew. I didn’t want to have too much fanfare and make much of it, I didn’t want to take away from what we were playing for and trying to achieve,’’ he said.

“That’s the way I’ve always been, leave it all out on the field and give it my all. We had a quiet little chat at the end of the game and just let everyone know.

“I just said, ‘that that was my last game and it was time to hang the boots up’.”

Herrick’s next goal is to get married.

His wedding has been twice postponed because of COVID-19, but an April 11 date has been locked in.

“Third time lucky hopefully,” he said.