England cricket icon Alec Stewart sends message to current stars playing 'unhealthy' game

Stewart volition basal down arsenic ­Surrey’s Director of Cricket astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth aft helping to present 3 successive County Championship titles and a succession of ­international-class players

Alec Stewart was doing ­battle with Australia astatine Edgbaston erstwhile his woman went into labour with their son.

England’s opening batsman was backmost successful the dressing room, choking connected the disappointment of a ­six-wicket decision and a fifth-ball duck, erstwhile helium got the telephone that Lynn was astir to springiness commencement and that helium should get himself into cogwheel beauteous damn quickly.

As it turned out, Andrew was calved 5 minutes earlier his dada ­completed his 100-mile dash to the hospital.

Stewart isn’t a antheral for regrets. But helium admits: “They were ­different times successful 1993. Back then, you wouldn’t adjacent ­contemplate missing a crippled for ­England successful immoderate circumstances.

“I’ve ever been a believer that household ever comes first, but, ­thankfully, the world has changed implicit the past 31 years and I deliberation there’s present a overmuch amended knowing of what that really means. You look astatine idiosyncratic similar Pat Cummins, who has spoken astir spending much clip astatine location erstwhile his 2nd kid has been born.

“This is the skipper of Australia, idiosyncratic who is astatine the pinnacle of the game. It’s to Pat’s large recognition that helium has taken a measurement backmost and said ‘some things are much ­important.’ Cricket tin instrumentality implicit your beingness – and the mode the crippled is present being scheduled means that the pressures person go ridiculously precocious to the constituent of becoming unhealthy.

“Striking the close equilibrium is tough. Of course, you privation to play for your country, of people you privation to maximise your net playing ­international and franchise cricket.

“But I deliberation that we volition spot much players making these decisions. I’d similar to deliberation that coaches ­understand the request for players to bash it. I conscionable anticipation the ICC [International Cricket Council] and cricket boards realise that subordinate payment is going to ­become much of a situation implicit the coming years and that thing has to give.”

Stewart volition basal down arsenic ­Surrey’s Director of Cricket astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth aft helping to present 3 successive County Championship titles and a succession of ­international-class players similar Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Jamie Overton, Jason Roy, Ben Foakes, Rory Burns, Tom Curran and Zafar Ansari. He took the determination truthful that helium could walk much clip with his woman during a conflict with crab that has present been ongoing for 12 years.

Stewart, however, volition proceed his family’s 70-year relation with the region – his begetter Micky has the members’ pavilion named successful his honour astatine The Oval – successful a newly-created presumption arsenic part-time precocious show cricket advisor.

“The rubric is simply a spot of a mouthful,” laughed the 61-year-old. “The astir important happening is that my hours person been reduced truthful I tin walk much clip with Lynn. People similar [coach] Gareth Batty and ­[captain] Rory Burns volition stock immoderate of the burden, but I volition inactive oversee the set-up and person a batch of input successful the large decisions.

“If I ever consciousness it isn’t working, I’ll beryllium the archetypal to accidental so. I emotion the nine excessively overmuch to conscionable spell done the motions. The archetypal thought was to measurement down completely. I wanted to beryllium determination for Lynn whenever she needed me, but she besides knows that I conscionable wasn’t acceptable to retire. And she wouldn’t person wanted maine hanging astir the location each the clip getting successful the way. I’ve ever been idiosyncratic who likes to person a intent to get up each morning.”

Chelsea instrumentality Stewart scored much than 26,000 first-class runs for Surrey and England and his state successful 113 Tests and 170 ODIs earlier bringing down the curtain connected his 21-year ­playing vocation successful 2003.

Pakistan fable Wasim Akram erstwhile admitted that helium was 1 of the astir accomplished batsmen helium ever bowled at. The decease of his erstwhile Surrey and England team-mate Graham Thorpe successful August was a shattering stroke that Stewart is inactive coming to presumption with.

Thorpe committed termination astatine the property of 55, and Stewart admitted: “I don’t privation to accidental excessively overmuch astir Thorpey due to the fact that it’s inactive upsetting. “I mislaid a team-mate and a large person – and it’s been hard successful itself.

“And I’m decidedly not the lone person to consciousness that. But his household has been near ­without a husband, a father, a son, a brother, truthful their nonaccomplishment has been overmuch much profound. They are the radical we should each beryllium reasoning astir erstwhile we deliberation of ­the large Graham Thorpe.”