LAST week, it was announced recently that James Hildreth would retire at the end of the season.

However, a hamstring injury that he picked up in the Royal London Cup match against Durham last week means that he will miss the remaining 50-over fixtures this season.

With that in mind, Hildreth has revealed that he feels the time is right to retire from the game with immediate effect.

Members and supporters will be given the chance to show their appreciation for everything that James has done for the Club prior to the start of this Friday’s Royal London Cup fixture against Sussex Sharks at approximately 1.45pm.

After making his debut for Somerset in 2003, James went on to make more First XI appearances for the County than any other player.

In over 700 matches across the three formats, the former Millfield School pupil amassed over 27,000 runs and 54 centuries.

He is Somerset’s third highest all-time run scorer in First Class cricket, scoring in excess of 17,000 runs at an average of 40.46 with a best of 303 against Warwickshire in 2009.

The 37-year-old is the Club’s all-time leading run scorer in T20 cricket, and he was a key member of Somerset’s last two one-day trophy victories, scoring the winning runs when the Club lifted the Twenty20 Cup in 2005 and the Royal London One-Day Cup in 2019.

His consistently impressive performances for Somerset saw him awarded with his County Cap in 2007 and he was granted a testimonial year in 2017.