Boyd Duffield made his decision to retire from Australia’s ID cricket team
Boyd Duffield retires: It was at the family dinner table that Boyd Duffield made his decision to retire from Australia’s Intellectual Disability (ID) cricket team. True to form, he did so simply, and definitively.
Boyd Duffield,” I’m getting a bit old now ” :-
“No, I don’t want to try out again,” he told his parents, Lisa and Steve. “I’m getting a bit old now.”
And with that, the end of an era was announced for the Duffields. For eight years and 15 matches, Boyd, who has autism spectrum disorder, has been a fixture in the national set-up, as an allrounder and an opening batter and, perhaps most importantly, the embodiment of the group’s spirit of inclusivity and fun.
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Nathan Lyon took Boyd this summer into the dressing rooms :-
Such is his nature, however, that his reach has extended far beyond the teams he has played in: in Adam Gilchrist he is a friend and fellow voluntary ambassador for Western Australia’s ‘Autism in Cricket’ programme; And he has another well-credentialed ally in Nathan Lyon, who this summer took Boyd into the dressing rooms during the Perth Test to meet the Australian players he calls heroes.
The meet and greet was news he received with – according to mum Lisa – repeated fist pumps of pure excitement, and in the dressing rooms he spoke with, among others, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, and his favourite, Steve Smith.
Boyd Duffield said:
“Nathan Lyon took me in there, and I was very excited,” he tells cricket.com.au. “I’ve known Nathan for a while now. Steve Smith is my best batsman. He bats really well and he takes his time in Test matches. Pat Cummins is going alright. He’s a Penrith Panthers fan.”
This week’s National Cricket Inclusion Championships in Brisbane; where Boyd is playing alongside his Western Australian teammates, serves as an ideal opportunity for him to personally inform his many interstate friends of his decision to leave the national side, though he will continue to play with WA .
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