Holly Colvin has taken up a position with ICC, after retiring aged just 26 © Getty Images
Barney Gibson, retired aged 19
Played 1 first-class game for Yorkshire, aged 15
Gibson became the youngest English first-class cricketer in history, when he kept wicket for Yorkshire in a game against Durham University aged just 15 years and 27 days, a game he played after getting special permission from his school. Keeping to a full-strength attack which included England paceman Ajmal Shahzad, Gibson acquitted himself quite creditably for someone his age, picking up six catches during the course of the game. He went on to play a few games for their second XI, before heading back to age group cricket. Subsequently, aged just 19, he requested to be released from this county contract, to pursue other interests.
Travis Friend, retired aged 24
Played 13 Tests and 51 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 2001 and 2004
While Friend never officially called it a day, he was part of a gang of 15 rebels who had a lengthy stand-off about their contracts with Zimbabwe Cricket in 2005, never to return to the international fold again. A bowler of genuine pace who offered useful contributions with the bat, Friend went on to play for Derbyshire for a while, before training to be a commercial pilot. Since 2008, he has had stints with Flybe and Qatar Airways as a pilot – one of the more interesting post-cricket careers of all time. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-friend-63a15639)
Fabian Cowdrey, retired aged 24
Represented Kent across all three formats between 2013 and 2016
Part of cricketing royalty, with a surname as illustrious as that, Cowdrey quit cricket recently to help his brother’s career as a singing superstar. During the off-season, the Kent allrounder was his brother Julius’ songwriter, and has now taken it up as his full-time vocation, having played four seasons at the first-class and List A levels.
Holly Colvin, retired aged 26
Represented England in 5 Tests, 72 ODIs and 50 T20s
Colvin made history as England’s youngest Test cricketer aged just 15, before going on to be part of two successful Ashes campaigns, apart from winning a World Cup and a World T20. After taking a sabbatical in 2013, a period in which she worked for the charity Cricket Without Boundaries, to spread awareness about AIDS in Africa, Colvin returned to the fold briefly in 2015, before taking up a position with the ICC as their Senior Officer for Women’s Cricket.
Alex Loudon, retired aged 27
Played 1 ODI for England, apart from representing Kent and Warwickshire
Once hailed as England’s own “mystery spinner” after bowling Marcus Trescothick with a doosra in the nets during their tour of Pakistan in 2005, Loudon played a solitary ODI before announcing his retirement at the age of 27, to pursue a career in business. Eleven years on, Loudon has gone on to build a career in corporate finance and investment management.(https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alexloudon)
George Thoms, retired aged 27
Played 1 Test for Australia, apart from representing Victoria
Possibly the only cricketer to have also been a gynaecologist, Thoms ended his career after playing just one Test for Australia, for fear of cricket inflicting a hand injury which would potentially end his career as a surgeon. He went on to become one of his nation’s most eminent surgeons, introducing the concept of laser surgery to Australia in the mid-70s. All this after making three centuries and having a first-class average of 35 in an era dominated by fast bowlers, and making his debut alongside Richie Benaud and Colin McDonald in 1951-52.
Henry Olonga, retired aged 27
Played 30 Tests and 50 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1995 and 2003
Part of a generation of Zimbabwean cricketers who quit international cricket after their black armband protest in the 2003 World Cup to protest the “death of democracy” in their homeland, Olonga, along with the likes of Andy Flower, moved out of Zimbabwe to England after the tournament. A knee injury scuppered his return to first-class cricket in England, after which he has gone on to have a career in music – a singer who can whip up a mean rendition of Nessun Dorma – apart from occasional stints in the media.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo