Mystery lung condition forces Hastings into retirement

SYDNEY: Australia fast bowler John Hastings has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after a mystery lung condition that had forced him to take a break from cricket last month failed to abate.

Hastings was told by doctors there was no guarantee that there will be no bleeding in his lungs when he bowled. “There was just a lot of grey area surrounding long-term health, whether it was causing any damage, and if there was any potential to have a fatal bleed on the field,” Hastings told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“They just really couldn’t say yes or no. And I wasn’t happy with that.” The 33-year-old played one Test, 29 ODIs and nine Twenty20 Internationals for Australia and had retired from Tests and ODIs in 2017 to focus on the shortest format of the game.