Glamorgan's James forced to retire by knee problem

Steve James, the former Glamorgan captain and England batsman, has been forced to retire due to a long-standing knee injury.

The 36-year-old has had six operations on his left knee in recent years and missed most of last season after surgery to realign his patella.

James, who won two England Test caps in 1998, had hoped to play on for at least another two seasons but has now admitted defeat in his long battle to regain fitness.

"There are a lot of different emotions but I guess the main one is sadness," James said. "I had a serious operation last June and I knew then it was 50-50 whether I'd be able to play again. I had another year on my contract and I felt I had another couple of years in me but it's not to be. The decision was made for me."

James, who was born in Gloucestershire, made his debut for Glamorgan in 1985 and went on to score 15,890 runs in first-class cricket.

The highlight of his domestic career came with Glamorgan's County Championship success in 1997 and his efforts were rewarded with a Test debut against South Africa one year later. He won one further cap against Sri Lanka. James now intends to move into sports journalism but will also continue in some capacity with Glamorgan as a coach.