Hatchett retires after defying the odds

Lewis Hatchett, the Sussex left-arm pace bowler, has announced his retirement on medical advice having defied the odds to have a professional career.

Hatchett, 26, was born with Poland Syndrome, a condition which appears in only one in 100,000 births, and leads to problems down one side of the body. For Hatchett it meant he was missing his right pectoral muscle and two ribs, leading to a weak delivery arm and a right shoulder that sits higher than his left, causing sharp pain after a day’s play, yet he overcame those obstacles to have a six-year career with Sussex.

But his 2016 season was curtailed by a lower-back injury and he has now been forced to end hopes of returning to the field.

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce my retirement from professional cricket due to injury,” he said. “Following medical advice, my long term health is most important to me and I have to listen to my body.

“To have to end my career in this way has been devastating, but to play six years at my home …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com